


Son of Crows (My D&D Character's Backstory)

by StarPrince_Punk



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Angst, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Fire Magic, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lawful Evil Character, M/M, Organized Crime, Orphanage, Orphans, Past Child Abuse, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Suicidal Thoughts, Tieflings, Warlock Pacts, Warlocks, Whump, chaotic neutral character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23053426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarPrince_Punk/pseuds/StarPrince_Punk
Summary: Lokrai wasn't just the only tiefling in his orphanage, but he was the only tiefling in the coastal city of Saeria. Many people treated him badly because of this. After being falsely accused of killing his own boyfriend - the only person to ever treat him nicely - he's kicked out of the orphanage and forced to live on the street.Until the local crime boss, Krosev Ferroti, decides to bring him into his syndicate.Or, in which an abandoned, orphaned, tiefling boy learns that he deserves to be loved. And in which we learn that just because someone is Lawful Evil, doesn't mean they'realwaysbad.
Relationships: Original Character & Original Character, Original Character/Original Character
Kudos: 5





	1. Introductory Information & General Backstory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to post my D&D character's backstory to here since it's soooo long and my friends might wanna read it. This chapter is just general information and overall backstory, but then the chapters after this will be scenes from my character's life written in serialized one-shot format.
> 
> (Spoilers if you're in my D&D group and don't wanna know my character's backstory, obviously lol.)

**Name: Lokrai Ferroti**

**Race:** Tiefling

 **Class:** Warlock

 **Background:** Criminal

 **Alignment:** Chaotic Neutral

**Appearance**

[[Link to Picture]](https://www.instagram.com/p/B1KTP8pHJRC/) [[Link to Picture]](https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Rov5UnTHc/)

Lokrai has bright red skin and darker red horns that curl like a ram’s just above his ears. His eyes are pure white. His thick, straight, black hair is messily slicked back, a couple free strands falling in front of his face between his horns. His hair is kind of long - a bit longer than chin length - and bits of it stick out from behind his neck like pointy, black barbs. He has three earrings on his right ear - one dangly and two studded - as well as two studded earrings on his left ear. He also has a few large, silver rings on his horns. His nails are naturally black and are a bit long, but are very rectangular rather than pointy.

Typically, Lokrai wears rather dressed-up clothes. They’re not super fancy, but they’re definitely not plain either. The most prominent piece of clothing he wears is his black tailcoat with big, pointed lapels. Under that is a simple white shirt with slightly poofy sleeves. He keeps the shirt unbuttoned, exposing part of his chest and the red crystal pendant of his silver necklace. The crystal is Lokrai’s arcane focus, which means it’s able to be used instead of components when casting spells. Lokrai’s crystal does this by drawing the infernal powers necessary to cast the spell from the underworld, causing it to warm up and glow a brighter red.

Lokrai’s shirt is tucked into black pants and fastened with a black leather belt. Hanging off his belt are two daggers - which work like switchblades. Lokrai’s pants are then tucked into black leather riding boots. The boots each have two buckles on them near the top, fastening them tight to Lokrai’s calves. Lokrai also has many silver rings on his fingers, most of which have black onyx and obsidian stones on them. The stones range in many sizes - big and small - and are all polished and shiny.

**Personality**

In his younger years, Lokrai was very shy, quiet, and didn’t speak much. Now, he is charismatic, confident, and very talkative. Years of working in a crime syndicate, in addition to gaining powers from an archdevil, will do that to you. Lokrai is often found wearing a lopsided smirk on his face, showing his sly nature to everyone. He’s very good at playing cards - another thing being in the mafia will do to you. He doesn’t even have to cheat, although it’s very easy for him to - with, you know, archdevil magic.

Lokrai is also very loyal. He’s loyal to his crime family - his father, Krosev Ferroti, most of all, since he helped Lokrai when he had no one. Lokrai believes respect is very important and treats everyone with equal fairness. After all, he is a tiefling, and he knows what it’s like to be discriminated against.

Usually people who are very charismatic are also very flirty, but Lokrai is _not_. Lokrai is happily in a relationship, thank you very much. Lokrai won’t even fake flirt with anyone. As mentioned before, he’s very loyal, and the one person he’s probably the most loyal to - besides members of his family - is his boyfriend Sylas (even if Sylas is just a ghost).

Lokrai has 1940-1950s New York accent.

**General Backstory**

Lokrai was born in the coastal city of Saeria. It was on the smaller side, as cities go, but it was always bustling with people. The busiest part of the city was the docks. There, you could find sailors tying up their ships or setting sail into the ocean. Seagulls flew around all over. Along the wide street next to the docks, horses pulled carriages past market stands, which sold all sorts of coastal-economy goods - fish, shellfish, etc. Usually there would also be farmers from the inner continent selling their crops as well, mainly grains, carrots, potatoes - hardy stuff like that. Only occasionally would they be seen selling any greens. This wide street next to the docks was called Main Street, and was basically like the town square, instead it was long down the coast instead of, well, a square.

A few blocks away from Main Street, inwards towards the various-sized buildings of the village, was an orphanage called Mr. and Mrs. Goldenacre’s Home for Lost Boys and Girls. There were quite a few orphans in Saeria - around 25 or so - and Lokrai was one of them.

Saeria was mainly populated by humans, ranging in various skin tones. Occasionally on Main Street you could spot a couple elves, or perhaps a gaggle of half-elf teenagers, but the majority of the population was human. As far as Lokrai could tell, he was the only tiefling in the whole village. He was  _ definitely _ the only tiefling in the orphanage.

At the Goldenacre’s Home, Lokrai was either bullied or ignored by the other orphans, all of which were human. Most ignored him, not wanting to associate with someone of his race, but there was a specific group of kids that really made his life hell. They’d call him names like sheephead and devil-eyes. They’d constantly make fun of his appearance, and sometimes even beat him up. Lokrai was also verbally abused by Mr. and Mrs. Goldenacre, despite them being pretty nice caretakers to the other children. Because of this, Lokrai was very shy and quiet. He didn’t talk much. He hoped if he was quiet enough, no one would notice him there, and the bullying and abuse would stop. This occasionally worked, but it usually didn’t.

The only person that treated Lokrai with any kindness and respect was Sylas (Neutral Good). Sylas was an Illuskan human orphan at Goldenacre’s. He had gray-violet eyes, pale skin, and blond hair. Lokrai didn’t know why Sylas was so nice to him, but he was. Lokrai crushed  _ hard _ on Sylas, but it wasn’t like he would ever tell him. He was too shy.

The two became friends after Lokrai opened up to him. They got very close, and the kids that bullied Lokrai also started to bully Sylas for hanging out with a tiefling. But Sylas was brave and loved to fight. He defended Lokrai from his bullies, willing to punch the shit out of them when necessary. However, Sylas was always outnumbered, and would usually lose his fights because of this. But he didn’t care. He’d always wanted to defend Lokrai.

Lokrai and Sylas would go to school with the other orphans, and in their free time, they played on the docks and on the beach. They’d try to see if they could steal from the merchants and get away with it, and they usually did. They would take off their flat caps and say “G’mornin’, sir” whenever Krosev Ferroti walked past them in the street.

They’re favorite place to hang out was around the large rocks of the  breakwater that extended from the shore into the sea. The breakwater was right at the bottom end of Main Street, and the rocks  were rather tall. Lokrai and Sylas could hang out on the other side of them and not be seen by anyone. Here, they played any games that kids do - tag, hide and seek, etc. They also looked for seashells and built sandcastles. They liked to look around for wildlife. Usually, they found all sorts of crabs - normal crabs, hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs, etc. Sometimes they found fish and jellyfish beached on the sea and would toss them back into the ocean. This is how they grew up, playing along the coast, having no one but each other.

Lokrai never expressed any interest in adventuring, but Sylas did. He wanted to train with a sword and join one of those parties of traveling adventurers. He wanted to fight dragons and crawl through dungeons for treasure. Lokrai wasn’t really that interested. He was fine staying in Saeria. He thought maybe he’d become a sailor like basically half the population of the village already was. He even already knew a few sea shanties - which he could play on his pan flute while Sylas sung along. No, Lokrai wasn’t interested in adventuring, but he was interested in Sylas, and wherever Sylas went in the future, Lokrai would follow.

And that’s how Lokrai lived through his childhood and early teen years - only one friend, bullies, and mean caretakers.

When he reached the age of 14, Lokrai and Sylas were still pretty similar to how they were as young kids. Lokrai was still shy and quiet to everyone except Sylas. Sylas was still brave and cheerful. They were even better at stealing from the merchants, and they still hung out in their little space by the rocks on the beach. One day, the two were sitting on a rather large, flat rock on the breakwater, watching the sunset over the ocean, when Sylas turned to Lokrai and told him that he had feelings for him. Lokrai was absolutely shocked - he had no idea Sylas returned his feelings. Lokrai told him he felt the same way, and the two began dating in secret. They kissed in front of that sunset. Over the following time that they spent together, they fell absolutely in love.

But a few months later, the bullies figured it out. They were all either the same age or a bit older than Lokrai and Sylas, so they were bigger and stronger than they ever had been before. When they found out Lokrai and Sylas were in love, they were more disgusted with Sylas than with Lokrai - how could someone fall in love with something as ugly as a tiefling? They began to beat up Sylas in front of Lokrai - which they did often, but they seemed to be punching even stronger today, fueled by their hatred and disgust. When the bullies held Lokrai back, he wasn’t strong enough to break free. He was unable to help Sylas.

Lokrai still doesn’t know to this day if the bullies ever meant to kill Sylas, but nevertheless, they did.

Lokrai never cried so hard in his life. The gray-violet eyes they were usually so filled with joy and light now glistened lifelessly. Sylas would never get to go on the great adventures he’d always dreamed of going on.

The bullies panicked. They went to Mr. and Mrs. Goldenacre and said that  _ Lokrai _ had beaten up Sylas, that Lokrai had gone mad with his tiefling blood and killed him. The Goldenacres were only a little bit sad. They liked Sylas, and they always thought it was such a shame that he always hung out with “the tiefling boy”. They didn’t quite truly believe the bullies, but they acted like they did - any reason to finally get that disgusting tiefing out of their home was a good one. 

So they sided with the bullies and blamed Lokrai for what happened to Sylas. They accused him of seducing Sylas into a relationship with him just so he could kill him later. They even accused him of using dark tiefling magic to make Sylas fall in love with him - but Lokrai didn’t even know magic (yet). Through tears, Lokrai denied everything, but no one listened. With Sylas dead, he was really, truly alone.

Finally having a ‘good’ reason to get rid of Lokrai, the Goldenacres kicked him out into the streets, where he lived homeless and alone.

Until Krosev Ferroti approached him one day and invited him to work in his crime syndicate.

Krosev Ferroti (Lawful Evil) was a very charismatic person. He could also be rather selfish. He cared a lot about money and power, and although he was the leader of the Ferroti Family, he only cared about a select few members of the syndicate. He was a Chondathan human. He had tan skin and dark brown eyes that almost seemed black. He had slicked back, very dark brown hair and a clean, well cared for mustache and goatee. His body was well built. His ears were rounded, signifying his human race. He dressed in very fancy clothes, often black or dark blue in color. He’d wear his shirt half-unbuttoned so all his long gold and silver chain necklaces against his chest would be visible. When it got cold, he wore a black cloak with crow feathers sewn onto the shoulders. There were many gold and silver rings on his fingers, many of which had gemstones on them. He even had a gold earring on his right ear and a gold tooth replacing his far right incisor. He walked around the streets of Saeria with a fancy wooden cane in his hand, the handle of which was gold. His shoes were made from the finest black leather. And on his face, you could usually find a sly, lopsided smirk, unbothered by any problem or conflict that came his way.

Lokrai didn’t know what Krosev saw in him, but nevertheless he saw something - some sort of potential. He offered Lokrai a chance to work for his syndicate, and Lokrai, with nowhere else to go, agreed.

At first, Lokrai was a lowly foot soldier for the Ferroti Family. He ran small errands around the village, collected money from the people that owned debts, stole things that the Family needed, stuff like that. He rarely even talked to Krosev - he was too high in the Family’s hierarchy. People didn’t treat him as badly as they used to, now that they knew he was a part of Krosev’s syndicate. This built his confidence a little, but he was still very quiet and didn’t talk unless he had to.

Lots of perks came with being a part of Krosev’s syndicate. For one, he got paid. He got money that he could buy whatever he wanted with. At some stores and taverns he’d get a discount just because he worked under the Ferroti name. And Krosev had even given Lokrai a place to live. Sure, it was a tiny, dingey little place, but it was  _ Lokrai’s _ . It was his own little space - away from bullies and all the other mean people - and Lokrai loved it. Lokrai was forever indebted to Krosev, and he admired Krosev very much for his kindness towards him - even if he rarely even got to speak with Krosev.

But even with his new life away from his horrible bullies, he was still without Sylas. He still felt so alone without his best friend. He was killed at the very beginning of their new, romantic relationship. Lokrai couldn’t help but mourn over what could have been.

He felt so alone and numb. Not to mention, even if everyone was being nicer to him because he worked for Krosev, that didn’t mean that were all  _ friendly _ towards him. People were still scared of him and treated him differently because he was a tiefling. He felt like such an outcast - so, so alone. He didn’t see the purpose of him living anymore if everyone hated him. He felt like such a burden on the world.

One day he decided that he’d go out to where he and Sylas all used to play, there on the beach, and walk into the ocean.

Luckily, he never got to. Krosev was taking his nightly walk and saw him. He talked him down from his ledge. He said that Lokrai should embrace that people were scared of him, not be ashamed of it. He should use it to his advantage. That’s what he did in his family business.

Lokrai took those words to heart. And from then on, instead of giving up, he was determined to find a way to get Sylas back. There had to be some way.

After around 6 more months, after Lokrai had turned 15, he found that way.

Ever since Lokrai started working for the Ferroti Family, he read. There was no more hanging out by the docks and on the beach now that he was alone. So he read. During this free time, Lokrai studied in the village library. He sometimes used to hang out there with Sylas, but they rarely went. Now, Lokrai went there everyday to read books about sorcery and magic. He researched everything he could. He learned so much about necromancy that he was basically an expert in it - even though he was unable to use magic himself. He did all this because what he wanted more than anything in the world was to get the love of his life back.

One day, while he was stumbling through the Infernal script of an ancient book, he discovered how to summon a demon - an archdevil, to be exact. Lokrai, just like everyone in the world, knew that tieflings existed because of a pact made generations ago that was infused the essence of Asmodeus. Apparently, tiefling blood still had a bit of that essence in it - which is what caused them to look the way they do. Therefore, by using tiefling blood, in addition to many other materials, and by drawing all the correct runes and symbols, one could summon Asmodeus to the mortal realm. Lokrai wondered that if he did this, he could ask Asmodeus to bring Sylas back.

So Lokrai collected all the materials over a few months. Some of the items were quite rare, but he got them. He went out into the middle of the beach, far away from anyone that could see, and began to draw the symbols and runes into the sand. He placed the items and materials in their proper places. Then finally, he cut his hand on his dagger and let his blood drip into the center of his summoning circle. He chanted the Infernal incantations. The air around him became warm and filled with a violent, swirling energy. Hellfire flames erupted from the ground, causing Lokrai to stumble backwards. When he looked up, he saw the fire and smoke start to take the shape of Asmodeus the archdevil.

“ _ Who dares to summon the Prince of the Underworld? _ ” He said in his booming voice, looming over Lokrai.

Lokrai introduced himself and told Asmodeus the story of how the love of his life was killed. He asked Asmodeus if he could use his great Infernal powers to return his soul to the mortal realm.

Asmodeus laughed evily in Lokrai’s face.  _ “Puny mortals with their obsession with love. No, I cannot resurrect your precious companion. I am no cleric’s deity.” _ Usually when mortals summoned him, they asked for power for themselves, not something as sickeningly sappy as this. Asmodeus almost admired the gall of it.

Lokrai tried not to cry. “Surely… Surely there is  _ something _ you can do! Please! I’ll do anything!”

Asmodeus grinned wickedly.  _ “Anything, you say?” _

Lokrai nodded, tears finally shaking free from his eyes.

_ “Well, perhaps there is something I could do… on one condition.” _

“What condition?”

_ “You must make a deal with me.” _ Asmodeus waved his hand and a flame burst into existence beside him. When the fire flickered out, a glowing yellow-orange quill and parchment appeared in it’s place.  _ “You must serve me and become devoted to me as your patron. You will do what I ask of you. You will spread my symbol around your mortal realm. You will become one of my many followers.” _

Lokrai thought that all sounded very scary, but if it meant he could bring Sylas back… “And in exchange?”

_ “In exchange, I will grant you powers,” _ Asmodeus smiled.  _ “Powers that I give all my loyal followers. The more loyal you are, the stronger I will allow you to grow.” _

“And with those powers, I can bring Sylas back?”

_ “I will give you a spell - a spell that you would not be able to use unless you had the powers that I can give you.” _ On it’s own accord, the floating, glowing quill wrote crimson ink on the glowing parchment. It wrote out the name of a spell, what it did, and how to cast it. It was a ritual spell - one you could only use once. It was granted the caster a permanent, passive effect that allowed them to see and speak to ghosts. The caster wouldn’t be able to see all ghosts - that’d be crazy - but they’d be able to see any ghost that had a strong presence toward him.

Lokrai stared at the text in awe, eyes wide. That… that’d be perfect. And then maybe, one day, with these magic powers that Asmodeus would give him, maybe one day he could resurrect Sylas back all the way.

Lokrai grabbed the glowing quill and signed the glowing contract, his signature glistening crimson.

The sound of Asmodeus’s booming laughter filled his ears, so much to the point where he felt dizzy. He saw fiery magic swirling around him. His body grew hotter and hotter. He felt warm jolts of power shot up his arms, filling his body and soul. It was painful, but he felt numb to it at the same time. It was indescribable, like nothing he’d ever felt before. Soon the heat was unbearable and Lokrai collapsed to the ground. Just before he fainted, he heard Asmodeus say inside his head,  _ “I hope our relationship can be a pleasant one. Remember that I did this for you.” _

When Lokrai woke up, the sun was shining bright in the early morning, and he was wearing different clothes. On top of the ratty clothes he had been wearing the night before, he was now dressed in a fine, black cloak with a hood and capelet. The hems were golden with infernal text sewn along them in black. Pinned in the center, keeping the cloak together, was a large, dark red, circular pin. On it in black was the symbol of Asmodeus.

In one of the inside pockets of this new cloak was a scroll. Lokrai opened it and recognized it as the parchment which had been floating and glowing the night before - his contract. On it said the spell.

Lokrai didn’t want to use the spell right away. He still didn’t have the hang of his new magic yet. What if he messed up? He wanted to train first before he used such a powerful spell as this. Plus, the spell needed some special, rare, magical materials that Lokrai would need to collect before he could perform the ritual.

Word spread around Saeria that the young tiefling boy could be seen standing on the rocks of the breakwater shooting blasts of magic out of his hands. The village started to not bother him even more now that they knew he could use magic. This gave Lokrai a little more confidence to speak.

When Krosev Ferroti found out that Lokrai could now use magic, he suddenly gave Lokrai  _ all _ kinds of attention. Gone were the days of “Mr. Ferroti doesn’t speak to foot soldiers. I will carry your message to him.” Now, Krosev wanted to talk with Lokrai  _ all _ the time. Krosev was treating him even more nicely, too. He seemed to be taking a liking to Lokrai. He’d occasionally ruffle Lokrai’s hair or clap his hand on his shoulder. He bought Lokrai nicer clothes, including his favorite tailcoat. And Lokrai knew that all this affection was probably mostly fake - an act to keep Lokrai loyal so Krosev could use him for his magic. But Lokrai didn’t care. He admired Krosev so much and was overjoyed to receive this attention from him. He was being treated with a kind of affection he’d never experienced before. Lokrai was an orphan, remember. He’d never had a parent. Krosev was starting to take that role for him, even if he wasn’t entirely out of love.

Eventually, within a month, Lokrai had studied the ritual so many times that he’d memorized it. He finally had collected the required materials. It was time.

Lokrai went to the same place on the beach where he’d summoned Asmodeus. He began drawing intricate lines and runes in the sand, all inside a big circle. He placed the materials in the middle and began to say the spell’s incantations.

After he finished, the circle of runes he’d drawn erupted in a cylinder of blue and white flames up into the night sky. The spell said he now had to walk through those flames, so Lokrai did. He slowly, carefully stepped through them. The fire felt so hot that it felt cold, like somehow the flames were able to be made of dry ice. But Lokrai kept walking until he reached the other side of the fire. Then, as suddenly as it started, the blue and white flames stopped, filling the air with cold silence.

Lokrai looked around, calling Sylas’s name.

And sure enough, standing a few feet away from him in a translucent form, was Sylas.

He met Lokrai’s eyes, face covered with shock. “Lokrai?”

Lokrai was crying so many tears of joy that he could barely speak. He ran at Sylas and flung his arms around him, but his mortal body just went through Sylas’s ghost. The realization hit Lokrai with a bit of sadness for a moment, but it was quickly overshadowed by the happiness he felt of being able to  _ see _ \- to be able to  _ talk to _ \- Sylas again. He hadn’t been able to do that for a whole year. Maybe he’d find another spell eventually that’d be able to make Sylas temporarily corprial, and finally fully corprial.

When he was finally able to speak clearly, he started telling Sylas how overwhelmingly happy he was to see him again, how he never stopped loving him, how he always wanted to get him back. Sylas said he knew most of what happened in Lokrai’s life since he’d died. He’d seen a lot of it as a ghost. Lokrai asked if Sylas would be able to follow him, and Sylas said yes, he could. He’d kind of ghost-bonded to Lokrai’s soul, so he could go wherever Lokrai went.

From then on, Lokrai and Sylas were inseparable again. Alone, Lokrai would talk out loud and Sylas would answer him. In crowded places, Lokrai would mutter or whisper under his breath, and Sylas would answer back - with only Lokrai being able to hear him, obviously. People were starting to notice Lokrai talking ‘to himself’. Rumors were going around that he’d gone crazy from his archdevil magic, but he didn’t care. He was truly happy again.

Lokrai could only really see Sylas if he focused. If he was distracted by something, he couldn’t see or hear him. But no matter what, he always  _ felt _ Sylas’s presence.

With his new happiness and magic powers, Lokrai quickly rose higher and higher through the ranks of Krosev’s crime syndicate. Soon he became one of the most important members of Krosev’s close circle - and he was still only 15. As this happened, Lokrai studied and trained and became exceptionally talented with his magic. He used these talents to do the work Krosev asked of him. He also used his magic to do the work that Asmodeus occasionally asked of him as a part of their pact.

And that was Lokrai’s life - working for an evil demon and a (mostly) evil human.

Lokrai had a pretty good relationship with Asmodeus. He was forever grateful that Asmodeus gave him his powers, and that he gave him the spell to be able to see Sylas again. He happily did the tasks that Asmodeus asked of him. They were never  _ that _ monumental of tasks, anyway. One of his constant jobs for Asmodeus was marking surfaces with his symbol. Lokrai did this often - whether scratching it into wood or stone with his dagger, or drawing it with ink or charcoal.

And for Krosev, he was no longer doing small errands. He was doing big jobs, some of which included killing people. Before getting powers, Lokrai thought he’d never be able to kill a person. He didn’t think he’d have the nerve or the stomach, and he’d probably feel too guilty about it, even if he killed a bad person. Now, after getting Asmodeus’s magic, something in his brain switched, and he seemed totally fine with killing bad people. Screw bad people that were in his or his family’s way. He’d kill them easily, especially if that’s what Krosev or Asmodeus required of him to do. He wouldn’t want to kill an innocent person, but if it had to be done, it had to be done.

Lokrai’s charisma was going through the roof. No longer was he a shy, quiet, soft-spoken teenager. Lokrai was now confident and talkative. After getting so much power - both in magic and in hierarchical mafia status - he gained a lot of respect from the people in the town, boosting his self confidence. Little boys took off their flat caps and said “G’mornin’, sir” to  _ him _ now. A couple other tieflings had moved into town, and no one bothered them or discriminated against them for fear that Lokrai would blast them with hellfire. People loved him. People feared him.

And Krosev started to treat him like his son. Lokrai really couldn’t tell if it was an act or not. At this point, it seemed like Krosev actually  _ did _ take a liking to Lokrai. Those hair ruffles seemed more genuine. Whenever Krosev said “I’m proud of you,” he seemed to really mean it. Krosev now invited Lokrai to sit next to him whenever his inner circle had a meeting. He’d claim it was because Lokrai was his Chief Magical Advisor, but there was something in his smile that made it seem like it was just because Krosev enjoyed Lokrai’s company.

And Krosev didn’t just talk to him about syndicate stuff anymore. He wanted to actually get to know Lokrai. They spent more time together outside of work and meetings, just the two of them, and Krosev mentored Lokrai in his ways and in the ways of the syndicate. He taught Lokrai to be good at card games and throwing daggers. All this affection that Krosev showed Lokrai is what probably boosted Lokrai’s confidence the most. Soon, Lokrai adopted Krosev’s sly, lopsided smirk as his own. They became so close, and Lokrai began to view Krosev as the father he never had. He’d almost accidentally called him ‘father’ or ‘dad’ a couple times. He didn’t know if Krosev actually saw him as a son, though.

About a week or so after Lokrai turned 16 years old, Krosev had a typical meeting with his inner circle. Lokrai sat next to Krosev - as what was normal now - and on the other side of Krosev sat a man named Razio. This was also normal, as Razio was Krosev’s younger brother and right-hand man. He was the underboss of the Ferroti Crime Syndicate.

But on this day, Razio planned to betry Krosev and assassinate him.

It came as a complete surprise to Krosev, Lokrai, and the rest of the Ferroti Syndicate. In the middle of the meeting, Razio stood up, grabbed Krosev, and held a dagger to his throat. He threatened him and everyone else in the room to not move, or else people would be hurt. He looked down at Krosev, smiling wickedly.

Lokrai didn’t even give Razio time to explain why he was betraying the Ferroti name. His pure-white, tiefling eyes began to glow, as did the red crystal on his pendant. “ _ DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!” _ Lokrai shouted as his upturned palms erupted into flames. He screamed as he cast Burning Hands on Razio.

Razio was too shocked at seeing Lokrai’s full power to react. The spell hit him and he was set on fire. He screamed in agony as he was burned alive. Lokrai just stared. After a while of listening to the screams, his mouth curved into a hint of a lopsided smile.

When Razio finally fell to the ground, dead, the whole room was in shock. It had all happened so fast. The first one to move was Krosev, who grabbed Lokrai and hugged him tight. Lokrai’s body stiffened. Krosev had never hugged him before. Krosev then spoke - quietly, shaken from almost being killed.

“That’s my boy,” he said.

The words melted Lokrai’s heart. Tears pricked his eyes - from the words and the hug but also because his father figure had almost died and that was terrifying. Krosev was the only other person Lokrai had ever loved besides Sylas. It was a different kind of love, yes, but it was just as strong. Lokrai used to be weak, and Sylas had died. And sure, he could still talk to Sylas and see his ghost, but it wasn’t the same as being alive. He wouldn’t have Krosev die on his watch, too.

“That’s my boy!” Krosev said again, this time so the whole room could hear him. He ended his hug with a clap of his hand on Lokrai’s back. He ended the meeting early.

The next day, Krosev requested to speak with Lokrai in private. Ho told him that he was to be the new underboss. He also explained that he thought of Lokrai as his son, and that - if Lokrai wanted - he would like to adopt him.

Lokrai was overjoyed. With tears threatening his eyes, he nodded and agreed, saying thank you after thank you. He called Krosev ‘father’ for the first time, and the look on Krosev’s face showed he couldn’t be happier. Any last trace of doubt that Krosev was just using Lokrai left his mind. Krosev genuinely loved him.

Over the next few days, Lokrai moved into Krosev’s large home on Main Street, overlooking the docks. And, since Lokrai was previously an orphan with no last name, he now took the last name Ferroti. He was officially a part of the Ferroti Family.

So, during the following 8 years until Lokrai was 23 years old, Lokrai lived with Krosev as official father and son. Lokrai replaced Razio as Krosev’s right-hand man and became the heir to the Ferroti Family syndicate, in addition to still being Krosev’s Chief Magical Advisor. He continued to work for Krosev in their family business, and he continued to work for Asmodeus doing various warlock tasks. He grew even closer to Krosev, and in turn gained more confidence. He ruled Saeria almost as much as Krosev did.

Even though Lokrai wasn’t shy or quiet anymore, Sylas still loved him. He watched Lokrai grow up into the charismatic person he now was, and Sylas was proud that he was finally able to love himself. Besides, Lokrai wasn’t ever shy around  _ him _ . Lokrai wasn’t really that different to him now as he had been before he died. And Sylas was still the sweet warrior of a man that Lokrai loved.

It occured to Lokrai that Sylas would now be able to go on the adventures that he’d always wanted to go on. He wouldn’t get to fight with a sword, sure, but he’d be able to see the world. All Lokrai needed to do was go on those adventures, and Sylas would be able to follow him because of their ghost-bond. And sure, Lokrai wasn’t very interested in adventuring, especially now that he had a high-ranking job that he loved, plus a father that he also loved. But Lokrai would do anything for Sylas. And if Sylas wanted to go on a journey, then Lokrai would go on a journey and bring him with him.

Lokrai asked Krosev if there was anything he could do outside of the city, particularly anything that involved travelling very large distances. Krosev laughed and joked if Lokrai wanted to get away from his overbearing parenting, which Lokrai quickly denied, earning him a hair ruffle. Krosev said that yes, there was definitely some long-distance work he could do, like recruiting and collecting certain resources, but why did he want to leave?

Lokrai told Krosev about Sylas. Krosev was the first one to learn that Lokrai could see his ghost, and he would be the only one other than Lokrai or Sylas that knew. Krosev understood and allowed Lokrai to go on his adventure under the guise of doing some long distance work of the syndicate.

Lokrai packed his bags and got ready for adventure. All he needed were some party members to travel with.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the introduction! The rest of the chapters will be moments from Lokrai's backstory in serialized one-shot format. It'll skip around from important event to important event. Even though I feel like no one's gonna read this, I'd appreciate it if you left kudos and comments since I live off them lol. Thanks for reading!


	2. Lokrai and Krosev Formally Meet (Start of Serialized Backstory)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting right after Sylas is killed and Lokrai is kicked out of the orphanage, here's the start of Lokrai backstory written in serialized one-shot format. Enjoy!

_(Lokrai is 14 years old here.)_

Lokrai sat on the dirty cobblestone road of Main Street, his ratty flat cap in his hand. A few copper pieces jingled inside of it. Ever since the orphanage kicked him out a couple days before, he had no home to return to, so he was left living on the street.

Lokrai had cried so much that at this point, he just felt numb. Sylas was dead. Sylas was dead, and Lokrai couldn’t save him. Sylas was dead, and now Lokrai was truly alone.

It was very late at night, and most people were in their homes, fast asleep. No one had walked by Lokrai in the last hour. His eyes were starting to droop. His head would lean forward a bit, about to nod off, then snap to attention again.

Quietly, in the distance, Lokrai heard the clacking sounds of fancy shoes walking down the cobblestone. His long, pointy ears perked up. He listened closer, and he began to hear not just footsteps, but the tapping of a cane against the cobblestone as well. As the noises got louder, he started to also hear the soft jingle jangles of jewelry. The clacking footsteps grew nearer and nearer, and soon, the hazy silhouette of their owner became clearer and clearer. Now that Lokrai needed to see the person’s face to know who it was. He could tell who was walking down the street just by those sounds alone.

Stepping into the flickering light cast by the flaming streetlamps, the figure revealed himself to be Krosev Ferroti, king of Saeria’s reigning crime syndicate. The light glistened off his dark, slicked back hair and sparkled off his gold and silver jewelry.

Lokrai, not looking up from the ground, began to aggressively shake the hat in his hands and chant, “Spare a copper. Spare a copper.” Krosev had a _lot_ of money. He was sure to give Lokrai something. Hopefully.

What Lokrai didn’t didn’t expect was for Krosev to stop walking - the sounds of his neat footsteps ending abruptly - and to stand over him. He blocked the streetlamp light, sending a dark shadow over Lokrai’s small, sitting form. Lokrai hesitantly stopped his shameful chant and looked up, his pure white eyes glinting with Darkvision. Krosev’s eyes were hidden in the black shadow created by the rim of his hat, plus the dark of the night.

“Whatcha doing out here, boy?” Krosev said. Of course, Krosev recognised Lokrai. Lokrai was the only tiefling in Saeria, and he’d often see him on Main Street with his blond friend. They were always so polite, taking off their caps and telling him “G’mornin’, sir,” as he passed by them. He didn’t know either of their names, but he knew those two boys were orphans. “Why ain’tcha at the Goldenacres’?”

Lokrai felt like he should be scared - well, he _was_ scared. The most powerful man in the city was looming over him and shrouding him in shadow, so of course he was at least a little scared. Plus, now that Lokrai had a closer look at him, he swore that he could see fresh blood on Krosev's knuckles. But, despite all that, he felt like he should’ve been more scared than he actually was. He’d always admired Krosev. He was kind of a city celebrity, after all. Lokrai was more star-struck than actually scared. It was enough of emotion to pull him out of his numbness, even for just a little bit. "Goldenacres kicked me out.”

Krosev raised his eyebrows. “Kicked you out?”

Lokrai shrugged. “I knew they would eventually. They just needed a reason.”

“What kinda reason?”

Lokrai avoided Krosev’s gaze - or at least, where he thought his gaze was, since his eyes were covered in shadow - and hung his head. He didn’t respond.

“D’you do something bad, tiefling?” Krosev said, and unlike basically everyone else who ever called Lokrai that, there was clearly no malice or prejudice in his voice when he called him ‘tiefling’. He just genuinely didn’t know Lokrai’s name, and used that as a substitute.

Lokrai shook his head, but said nothing. Not only was he still scared and star-struck, but he was also on the verge of tears.

“Then what happened?” Krosev asked.

Lokrai looked up again at Krosev. He didn’t know why the rich, powerful, crime boss was wasting his time talking to him. “I-I don’t want to take up your time. I’m sure you’re busy and it’s late-”

“I wanna know what happened,” Krosev said.

He spoke with so much authority that it scared Lokrai into telling the story. He explained how the bullies beat up Sylas so bad that they killed him, and how they blamed Lokrai for doing it. He explained how he could tell that the Goldenacres knew it was bullshit but chose to believe it anyway and kicked him out onto the street.

Krosev took in all of Lokrai’s words carefully. “This Sylas… that’s the blond boy I always see you with on Main Street?”

“Yes, sir,” Lokrai said, voice starting to crack. “He’s my best friend. I would never hurt him! Never ever!”

“I know that,” Krosev said plainly - that powerful, authoritative tone still clear in his voice. “Anyone within a mile of Saeria could see that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you two apart.”

Lokrai didn’t know how to respond without crying, so he didn’t speak.

Krosev let out a breath. “I’m sorry for your loss, tiefling. Shame he died. He was a good kid.”

Lokrai just nodded, still not looking at Krosev. They went silent again.

“I always liked you two. You were always so polite,” Krosev leaned a bit on his black, golden-handled cane. “I’d hate to see your life get wasted out here, too.”

Lokrai blinked and finally looked up at him. “W-What?”

“Hows about I offer you a job. And, you know, if you work for me, you wouldn’t be living out here on the street. I could supply you with a place to live.”

Lokrai sat up straighter. “Y-Y-You’d r-really do that, sir?”

“Of course. Your pickpocketing skills could rival a trained thief. I could use that kind of skill. I always need someone with a good sleight of hand. It can be very useful in my business.”

Lokrai’s eyes were wide. Lokrai managed to laugh a little. The skin of his cheeks grew an ever deeper, darker red as he blushed at the compliment - a compliment from _Krosev Ferroti_. “I-It can?”

“Yeah, kid,” Krosev’s mouth finally broke into his classic, charismatic, mafia-boss smile. “Now, whaddya say?” He held out his hand, the fresh blood on his knuckles glistening in the streetlamp light.

Lokrai stared at it, still in shock. Tears brimmed in his eyes. then leapt up from his seat and shook it. “Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!”

“Good,” Krosev’s smile stayed on his face. He began to walk back down the street “Come, follow me. I’ll show you a place where you can stay for now. It’s not too far away.”

“Th-Thank you so much, sir,” Lokrai said again as he quickly caught up with Krosev’s wide, confident strides as they walked down the street.

“It’s no problem, kid. Just think of it as an employment benefit,” Krosev wore his sly smile and put his hand on Lokrai’s shoulder. “I can tell you’re gonna do great work for me.”

Lokrai felt his muscles go slightly tense at the touch, not used to the affection. But he loved it - _gods_ , did he love just that simple shoulder touch. He loved the thought of an adult actually showing him kindness.

They’d walked a bit when Krosev spoke up again. “What’s your name, tiefling boy?”

“Lokrai.”

“Lokrai,” Krosev repeated. And - Lokrai probably only imagined this - but he said it somewhat approvingly.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Lokrai Almost Ends It All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Suicidal thoughts.

_ (Lokrai is 14 years old here.) _

Lokrai shifted his feet in the sand again, the heavy wetness of it rubbing between his red toes. He ran a couple steps, then stopped. Gods, he was such a  _ coward _ . Why couldn’t he just do this?

After Sylas died, Lokrai had felt so lonely. So fucking lonely. The only person to ever be nice to him was gone. And sure, he wasn’t quite  _ bullied _ for being a tiefling anymore - no one would bully someone who worked for Krosev Ferroti - but he still got rude comments and sneers and side-eyes. The mean people still found ways of being mean to him. And the friendly people were too scared of him to be their normal, friendly selves with him.

Lokrai was only feared and hated.

All he wanted was to be loved.

He missed Sylas.

He ran towards the crashing ocean waves again, then stopped again. The waves were inky black below the nighttime sky, swirling and rolling like the Arms of Hadar.

Lokrai took another deep breath. All he had to do was run into those dark tendrils and all this would be over.

Maybe he would even see Sylas in the afterlife.

He started to take another step.

“Hey kid!” A familiar voice rang out across the beach.

Lokrai whipped his head around and sure enough, there was Krosev Ferroti, standing on the wood planks of the nearest dock. He wasn’t standing on the sand. A man like him would never get sand in his shoes, even over something like this.

“H-Hello, Mr. Ferroti!” Lokrai calling back, trying to sound calm.

I must not have worked, because Krosev held up his hand that wasn’t holding onto his cane and beckoned Lokrai over to him with a curl of his finger. “Come here, tiefling boy.”

Lokrai didn’t move, just staring at Krosev.

“Come on, now.”

With all the willpower he had, Lokrai began walking slowly over to Krosev. He then picked it up to a light jog. Soon he reached Krosev. “I-Is there something you need, sir?”

“I was just taking my nightly walk,” Krosev said, gesturing around the street with his cane. “I do so every night, to check up on my city. Make sure everything’s running smoothly.” He looked back to Lokrai, “Care to join me?”

“I-I, I would, b-but I don’t have my shoes.”

“Where’re your shoes?”

“I left them at home.”

“Why’s that?”

“I knew I wouldn’t need them,” Lokrai scratched a bit at his arm. “Or at least, I  _ thought _ I wouldn’t.”

“If you can walk from your lodge to here without shoes, then you can walk with me.” Krosev tapped his cane on the wooden dock and turned around, expecting Lokrai to follow him.

He did.

They walked in silence down main street. Lokrai thought it was awkward, but Krosev didn’t seem bothered, so the awkwardness in his mind felt like it was allowed to dissipate.

Soon, when they were close to Krosev’s house, Krosev nodded in the direction of the nearest pier extending out into the black ocean. “Come this way,” he simply said, and walked over there.

Lokrai followed.

Krosev’s fancy shoes and cane clacked satisfyingly against the wooden planks of the pier. Lokrai’s bare feet padded against them, leaving behind any sand that was still stuck to the bottoms of them.

At the edge of the pier, Lokrai was surprised to see Krosev lean against his cane and guide his body down until he was sitting down on the wood, legs hanging over the edge. This pier was a bit high up, so his feet didn’t touch the water.

“Sit,” he said in a voice that was softer than anything he’d heard Krosev say before.

Lokrai hesitantly sat down on the edge of the pier next to Krosev.

“You said your name was Lokrai, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What were doing out on the beach so late at night, Lokrai?”

Lokrai looked down at his hands.

Before he even had a chance to answer, Krosev added, “And I think you know better than to lie to someone like me.”

Lokrai picked at his nails. “I was… I was gonna walk into the ocean.”

“Mhm,” Krosev hummed, already knowing this. He was a smart man. “And why would you do that?”

“I… I wanted…” Lokrai gulped and wiped away a tear escaping his eye, “I wanted to kill myself.”

“Wanted to go join your blond friend?”

Lokrai sniffed and nodded.

Krosev finally looked over at Lokrai for the first time since he’d joined him on his walk. “It’d be a waste, you know that?”

“What would?”

“If you killed yourself,” Krosev reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a small, ornately carved, dark wooden pipe with gold accents. “I don’t suppose you got a light?”

Lokrai shook his head. (Although, that’d be the last time he ever answered that question from Krosev with ‘no’.)

“Thought so,” Krosev reached into his inside pocket again and pulled out a box of matches. He ignited one and lit his pipe, inhaling its first breath of smoke. He let it out with a satisfied sigh.

Lokrai was just staring at him, watching, awed. He watched Krosev’s hands and motions carefully, and it distracted him momentarily from his sadness.

“If you killed yourself,” Krosev went back to the main conversation at hand, “I would lose my best pickpocket. You wouldn’t wanna be the reason why I lost my best pickpocket, would you?”

Lokrai shook his head. “No, sir.”

“Good. So I should expect to see you alive tomorrow, and so forth?”

Lokrai hesitated. “Probably.”

Krosev looked at Lokrai again, and Lokrai could  _ feel _ his brown eyes piercing into him - but like, in a good way. That gaze was so powerful and scary, but when Lokrai  _ earned _ that gaze on him, a spark of pride flared inside his chest.

“Why’d you wanna kill yourself, kid?” Krosev asked in that soft tone Lokrai wasn’t used to.

Lokrai blinked. If this was anyone else, he would’ve asked back, ‘why do you care?’ But this was  _ Krosev Ferroti _ so he couldn’t say something like that.

“And remember what I said about lying,” Krosev took another hit off his pipe.

Lokrai still didn’t respond right away. He looked down at his hands again. “I… I feel really alone. And numb. And sad.”

Krosev just nodded and continued to smoke.

“Without Sylas, I have no one,” Lokrai kept explaining. “No one likes tieflings. Everyone is scared of me. And the people that aren’t scared of me are mean to me. I just… I feel like I don’t have a reason to live anymore. Without Sylas, there’s no reason. Everyone’s either scared of me or is mean to me. Nobody likes me.”

Krosev breathed in on his pipe, staring out into the dark ocean. “And these mean people, what do they do? They call you names and such?”

Lokrai nodded.

“What kinda names? Devil? Demon?”

Lokrai just nodded again, his shoulders sagging.

Krosev flicked some ash off his pipe. “Can I tell you a little business secret?”

Lokrai blinked, eyes-wide. “S-Sure, sir.”

“Those people that are mean to you?” Krosev said, “They’re scared of you, too. That’s why they’re mean. They’re just scared.”

Lokrai blinked again. “Wha…”

“Those names they call you - devil, demon - those are things they’re scared of, right”

Lokrai hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Yeah. They’re just just scared, too. You know about fight or flight?”

Lokrai shook his head. “No, sir.”

“Well, there’s this thing inside of people’s brains called the fight or flight response, and it causes your brain to make a choice whenever it feels scared or in danger. It’s a subconscious choice and people don’t really have any control over what choice their brain makes. Some people choose flight, and they cower or run. Some people choose fight, and they lash out.”

Lokrai took in this information. “So…  _ everyone _ ’s scared of me?”

Krosev shrugged. “ _ I’m _ not, so no, not everyone.”

More pride sparked against the tinder of Lokrai’s heart. “So what about all the people that are? What should I do?”

Krosev let out a breath of smoke and shrugged again. “Don’t do anything.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“What’s so wrong with people being scared of you, kid?” Krosev said, still looking at Lokrai. “Everyone’s scared of me, you know. And I’m fine with it. Maybe you should be fine with it, too.”

Lokrai blinked and thought about these words. He looked away from Krosev and back down at his hands. He picked at his naturally black nails. The waves of black sea under them rolled and crashed, still moving like the shadowy tendrils of the Arms of Hadar.

“Let people be scared,” Krosev continued. “Some people are just the kind of people who are scared all the time by things that aren’t even scary - like you. But we can’t help it. We can’t change everyone’s minds. We can only change our own.”

Krosev took another breath of smoke, and at this point Lokrai was staring at him in awe again.

“You can change your mind to stop being upset that people are scared of you, and instead embrace it. Being scary isn’t a bad thing, you know. I worked my whole life to  _ be _ scary. And look where that’s gotten me.” Krosev gestured around with his cane. “I’m the king of a land that the real king has forgotten.”

Lokrai just continued to blink and stare with his pure, pupilless, white eyes. Krosev didn’t even flinch when he looked into them.

“Take advantage of their fear, Lokrai. Their fear is  _ their _ weakness, not yours. You’re strong, and their fear only makes you stronger. See their fear and use it to your benefit. That’s what people like us do.”

And with that, Krosev stood up from the pier’s edge.

“You’re just a foot soldier, aren’tcha?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hows about I make you a  _ real _ soldier? That way we can put that scary face of yours to good use.”

Lokrai’s got even wider. “Y-You mean it, sir?”

“Of course. You start tomorrow. I think I’ll assign you under Donella. She’s a scary woman herself.” Krosev turned on the heels of his fancy shoes and clacked them against the wooden planks back down the pier. “Goodnight, Lokrai.”

Lokrai was still a little in shock, and his brain was also still processing everything that Krosev had told him. He finally managed to shout after him. “G-Goodnight, sir! And thank you!”

“You’re welcome, kid!” He called back, not turning around to face him.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	4. Krosev Finds Out Lokrai Became a Warlock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after Lokrai has gotten his powers from Asmodeus.

_(Lokrai is 15 years old here.)_

Word had been going around Saeria that ‘the tiefling boy’ was seen shooting magical blasts out of his hands out on the breakwater.

It wasn’t long before word hit Krosev’s ears.

A foot soldier in Krosev’s syndicate approached Lokrai on the beach just after he shot another Eldritch Blast into the sea. The soldier said that the boss wanted to see Lokrai, so Lokrai followed him to the Black Oyster Tavern and Inn - the Ferroti Syndicate's base of operations.

To be honest, Lokrai was nervous. Why did Krosev want to see him? Was he in trouble? Did Krosev not like magic? Was Krosev religious and found out Lokrai got his magic from a demon? His head spun with worries on his way to the tavern.

When he and the foot soldier entered, Lokrai was surprised to find the usually rowdy bar mostly empty. There weren’t any ‘citizen’ customers, only members of the syndicate - and not many of them either. Lilith, as usual, was tending the bar. Donella Ferroti - the capo who Lokrai currently did petty jobs for - sat at the bar. Next to her was her wife, and also the syndicate’s consigliere - Madison McHenry. Sitting at table Jamie Ferroti - the syndicate’s head Cleric. Across from him was Razio Ferroti - the underboss. And standing by the bar, talking with Donella, was Krosev Ferroti himself.

Lokrai hadn’t seen him since he saved him from commiting suicide. And that was months ago.

“Heyyyy kid!” Krosev greeted him with open arms and a wide smile - his gold tooth glinting in the tavern’s candle-chandeliers. “How’s my favorite neighborhood thief doing?”

Lokrai’s eyes shot open wide. He wanted to smile but he was too in shock. He… He was Krosev’s favorite thief?

Unseen from Lokrai, behind the bar, Lilith rolled her eyes. Donella and Madison also exchanged a look.

Krosev, having now crossed the room to stand by Lokrai, clapped a hand on Lokrai’s shoulder. Instinctively, Lokrai tensed up at the sudden touch, but once he realized that it… it was _friendly_ … Lokrai slowly - carefully - let himself relax.

“A little crow told me that you have acquired some… magical abilities,” Krosev continued, his comforting hand still resting on Lokrai’s shoulder. “When were you gonna tell me, huh?”

“I-I-I… I didn’t think… I’m sorry-”

“Nah, nah, kid. None of that. I’m just messin’ witchu.” Krosev began to guide Lokrai farther into the room. He gestured to the table that Razio and Jamie sat at. “Sit, please. I want to discuss some things with you.”

Lokrai silently nodded and sat down next to Jamie. He had to step away from Krosev’s comforting touch, and its absence filled him with a strange emptiness that he’d barely ever felt before. It was a different emptiness than the one he was used to.

Krosev sat across from Lokrai - next to Razio, who wore a very obvious and disapproving frown at this whole situation. Lokrai shrunk in his chair.

Krosev, however, looked very friendly - approachable. He was all smiles and upturned palms. And after all Krosev had done for Lokrai - saving him from homelessness, saving his _life_ \- Lokrai couldn’t help but completely trust him.

Krosev took out a fancy, engraved pipe from his inside blazer pocket. Lokrai noticed it was a different one than the one he’d seen before. Krosev must’ve had a ton of those.

Krosev felt around his blazer for matches, when he realized he had none. “Raz, _fratellino_ , you got a light?”

“Nope,” Rozio said without checking his pockets, disapproving eyes still staring holes into Lokrai’s head.

Lokrai gulped. “I-I have one, sir!”

Krosev looked at him with a glimmer of surprise. “You’re learning, boy. Good job.”

 _‘Good job_.’ The words echoed like wind chimes in Lokrai’s mind.

Lokrai held up his inexperienced hand and prepared to summon the smallest amount of fire magic into his fingertips. He squinted, focusing hard.

His hand burst into flames, sending fire 2 feet into the air before he was able to gain control again and make the fire smaller. Everyone else in the room flinched back at the sudden blaze. And as Lokrai carefully controlled the flames so they shrunk down and started to only lit the tip of his pointer finger, Krosev stared in awe, mouth slightly agape. That _power_ \- that power would soon be all his.

Lokrai reached forward and lit Krosev’s pipe with his finger, then extinguished his flame. “Um… Sorry about that. I’m still… I’m still getting the hang of it.”

“No problem, kid,” Krosev barely hid his awe. He smoked on his pipe. “No problem at all. Now I want you to tell me everything.”

So Lokrai did. He said how he summoned Asmodeus and made a deal with him. He said that the archdevil gave him magic in exchange that Lokrai occasionally did his bidding. He didn’t mention anything about Sylas.

Krosev looked even more unashamedly in awe when Lokrai finished explaining. He was grinning like a schoolgirl. The power of a _demon_ \- an _archdevil_ . Imagine how powerful Lokrai would be after he _really_ got the hang of those powers. With that kid by his side, Krosev would be invincible.

“Fantastic, kid,” Krosev beamed. “Just fantastic. Amazing.” He stood up, “C’mon, let’s go outside. I wanna test those powers of yours - see how far they can go. Would you like to do that with me?”

Lokrai beamed right back. “O-Of course, Mr. Ferroti, sir! I… Wow!” He stood up as well and ran to Krosev’s side.

 _Like a loyal dog_ , Krosev thought. He gave Lokrai’s black hair a ruffle, chuckling.

That horrible empty feeling immediately vanished from inside Lokrai’s ribcage at the touch. This was absolutely amazing. Krosev - after not caring to talk to him for _months_ \- was now not only _talking_ to him, but _praising_ him - giving him _affectionate touches_. All because Lokrai got his magic. Lokrai was so happy he decided to get his magic. Now he was finally useful to Krosev.

Lokrai’s happy feelings stopped very suddenly.

_Now he was finally useful to Krosev._

Oh.

Krosev didn’t actually care about _Lokrai_ , he just cared about his magic. He just wanted to keep Lokrai loyal to him so he would use his powers in Krosev’s favor.

Krosev was manipulating him.

But… if _this_ is what that meant… If Krosev ‘manipulating’ Lokrai meant him giving him all this praise and all these affectionate touches… Lokrai didn’t actually care. He could pretend it was real. He could pretend Krosev was being genuine.

He could pretend a living person actually loved him. It felt just as good as the real thing.

Lokrai smiled and happily went with Krosev outside to test his powers - being guided out the door by Krosev’s comforting hand on his shoulder.

Back in the bar, Lilith shook her head. “Poor kid.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Krosev is Lawful Evil, but can he learn to maybe be good to some people? Tune in next time to find out! Thanks for reading!


	5. Krosev’s Affection Seems More Genuine

_(Lokrai is 15 years old here.)_

It had been a month and a half since Lokrai got his powers. He was now able to see Sylas’s ghost, which brought him so much joy. He’d talk to him in public, even though others couldn’t see him. Rumors were going around that he’d gone crazy with his magic, but he didn’t care. And besides, Krosev never believed those rumors anyway.

Krosev was still just as kind to Lokrai as ever. He always praised Lokrai when he used his powers in a way Krosev wanted. He always clapped his hand on Lokrai’s shoulder and patted his back. Lokrai was so happy, even if he knew Krosev was just acting like that to manipulate him into being loyal.

Krosev spent a lot of time with him one-on-one (well, Sylas was there too, technically, but Krosev didn’t know that). Krosev would usually invite him to the Black Oyster or to the beach to practice his powers.

But on that day, Krosev had invited Lokrai to his house - or, more like his _mansion_. Krosev lived in a huge home right on Main Street.

When Lokrai arrived, he lifted the large, ornate door knocker to knock on the door. He waited nervously.

Krosev opened the door. “Hey, kid. Come in, come in.”

Lokrai gave a small smile in greeting, then entered. The smell of good food hit his nose immediately. “D-Did you make food?”

“Yes I did. My mother’s specialty.”

Krosev had food prepared. They were going to have dinner together. Lokrai was speechless. “Th-Thank you, sir.”

Krosev waved off Lokrai’s words. “Anything for my warlock.”

The words warmed Lokrai’s heart, but they also hurt. It was starting to be difficult to pretend that Krosev was being genuine. It just really made Lokrai want Krosev’s actions to be real.

But Lokrai forced himself to pretend some more. Sometimes he would pretend for so long that he’d forget he was pretending. That was his goal for tonight.

They sat down for dinner. Lokrai stared at the food in front of him. It looked just as good as it smelled. Lokrai’s stomach growled, but he didn’t eat it. One thing he was used to at the orphanage was his bullies putting dirt, soap, and rat poison in his food. Because of that, he didn’t trust any food that was given to him. He only trusted food that he got himself - usually stuff he stole.

He watched Krosev start eating. He looked fine. Besides, he made it himself. But what if he put rat poison in Lokrai’s serving?

No, it was _Krosev_ he was talking about. He could trust Krosev, right?

“Whatcha waiting for, kid?” Krosev snapped Lokrai out of his thoughts. “C’mon, _mangia_ , eat!”

“R-Right, sorry, sir.” Lokrai hesitantly nibbled his food, and _damn_ \- Krosev was a good cook. No surprise coming from a Chondathan human. His eyes lit up, “This is really good, sir.” He continued to wolf it down.

“Thanks, kid,” Krosev flashed his signature lopsided smile. “Now, I invited you over because I want to discuss something with you.”

“Yss srph?” Lokrai then covered his mouth and looked at the floor embarrassed. Krosev laughed. Lokrai finished chewing and swallowing his food. “Yes, sir?”

“I’ve been thinking,” Krosev wiped his mouth with his napkin, “about giving you a promotion.”

Lokrai could help but let out a laugh, before quickly stifling it. “But sir, you’re given me two promotions within the past month and a half!”

“And I’m giving you another,” Krosev said like it was nothing. “I’m creating a new position in my inner circle - Chief Magical Advisor. You’ll fill that role.”

Lokrai stared in disbelief. “Y-Your… Your inner circle?”

“Yeah, of course,” Krosev said - again - like it was absolutely nothing - like this wasn’t shaking Lokrai to his core. “I should’ve done it long ago, when you first told me you got magic.” He took a sip from his wine glass.

Lokrai struggled to form words. “Mr. Ferroti, sir, I’m… I’m honored! Thank you! You… You really don’t have to do this, sir. I-I really don’t deserve-”

“Nonsense!” Krosev waved off Lokrai’s ramblings. “No one else in my business knows about magic except for you - well, and Jamie, but he only knows about healing spells. No, you are too valuable of a piece on my chess board. You will become my Chief Magical Advisor and you will sit at my left side at inner circle meetings from now on. Is that understood?”

Lokrai blinked, still in shock. “Y-Yes, sir.”

Krosev smiled. “Good, good.”

They finished their dinner, talking about things that seemed frivolous in comparison to what they’d just discussed.

Eventually, Krosev said, “You know, I just realized, I forgot to have you remove all your weapons at the door.” He pointed his finger at him. “That just shows how much I trust you. I make everyone remove their weapons at the door when they enter my house - everyone except my brothers and sisters.”

“Oh, well, it doesn’t even matter, cuz I don’t have any weapons on me,” Lokrai laughed weakly.

Krosev just stared, not laughing at all. “What?”

“I don’t have any weapons,” Lokrai repeated.

“Then how would you defend yourself?”

“My magic-”

“Well, what if a situation arrives where you’re gagged and can’t say your spells? You’d need another way of protecting yourself.”

Krosev sounded… _genuinely_ concerned for Lokrai. But it must’ve been fake, Lokrai told himself. Krosev didn’t actually care about him. It was fake.

But it really didn’t sound fake.

“I… um, well, I never thought of that.”

“Here,” Krosev stood up and walked over to a door across the room. “Follow me, Lokrai.”

“Yes, sir.” Lokrai followed.

They walked to a room that was filled wall to wall with weapons on racks - swords, daggers, scimitars, falchions, glaves, longbows, shortbows, crossbows, and even weapons that Lokrai had never _seen_ before - only read about in books - special mechanical weapons called _guns_. Pistols, rifles - all ornate and decorated with gold and silver, just like the rest of the weapons.

“This is my weapons display room,” Krosev said.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Lokrai said before he could stop himself. He put his hand over his mouth.

Krosev’s eyes widened, surprised that the normally shy kid was able to make a sassy comment. That must’ve meant Lokrai was feeling more comfortable being around him. Krosev grinned, showing his gold tooth, and ruffled Lokrai’s hair, laughing. Lokrai loosened up and laughed a bit, too.

“Let me get you what I’m looking for.” Krosev left Lokrai’s side and walked to the other side of the room, where many daggers were displayed in a case. After searching, Krosev pulled out two little, rectangular, black devices - decorated with the faintest designs of silver ivy vines.

“What are those?” Lokrai asked.

“These,” Krosev flicked the devices and small blades swung out of them, “are specially daggers called switchblades.” He flicked them closed and then open again. “Little springs inside the handle help it to swing out like that. Then you just flip this little latch and they lock in place.” Krosev locked them. “You see?”

“Y-Yeah… woah…” Lokrai stared at them. “That’s so cool.”

“Yeah, they are.” Krosev unlocked the switchblades, closed them, and pressed them into Lokrai’s hands. “And now they’re yours.”

“W-What?!”

Krosev laughed, “They’re yours! Take ‘em.”

Lokrai looked down at the blades in his hands. He hesitantly flicked one. It satisfyingly swung open. Lokrai let out a quiet laugh. “Wow, that’s… that’s really cool. Thank you, Mr. Ferroti!”

“You’re welcome, kid,” Krosev ruffled Lokrai’s hair.

Lokrai melted under the touch. That was his favorite thing Krosev would do was ruffle his hair like that.

“You know how to use them?” Krosev continued.

“Uh… I mean,” Lokrai slashed at the air, “don’t you just… stab with it? Or-”

Krosev laughed and clapped his hand on Lokrai’s back. “Don’t worry about it, kid. I’ll teach you.”

Lokrai blinked up at him. “You’ll… you’ll what?”

“I’ll teach you.”

“I-I mean… you don’t have to if-”

“Nah, don’t worry about it kiddo, I want to.”

Krosev then took one switchblade back from Lokrai and began to teach him how to use them - how to hold the knife properly, how to attack with it, etc. Eventually, Krosev decided to teach him how to throw the knives, too.

“O-Oh, it’s okay! I have my magic for long-ranged attacks,” Lokrai protested.

Krosev waved off Lokrai’s words. “Nonsense! What if you’re in a situation where you’re unable to cast your magic for some reason? You need to be prepared. Now, face the target board and try to hit the bullseye.”

“O-Okay…” Lokrai turned to the target hanging on the wall. He locked the knife open and held it up to his eye, pinched between his fingers.

“No, no, like this,” Krosev said in a soft voice. He placed his hand gently on Lokrai’s back and bent down so he was eye level beside him. Lokrai froze at the touch, but quickly relaxed. The hand felt so grounding on his back. He felt so… _supported_.

Krosev gave him pointers and practiced throwing knives with Lokrai. It was nice. Halfway through this, Krosev realized that he really didn’t have to be doing this. Donella was probably better at throwing knives than he was. Plus, he had work that he could be doing. But he _wanted_ to spend time with Lokrai. He wanted to teach him these things. It astounded him. He didn’t understand.

He shook away his emotions. This was just so the kid would like him - so he wouldn’t betray him. This was so Krosev could have his power.

Lokrai finally hit the target very close to the bullseye. His eyes lit up and he turned to Krosev. “I did it! I did it Mr. Ferroti! I did it!”

Krosev looked at that boy, with his wide eyes and excited smile - innocent, almost. A feeling crawled deep inside his heart and refused to leave. It was a warm feeling - a _kind_ feeling - something he wasn’t used to. It was… _protective_.

 _Paternal_ , he realized. It was paternal.

Krosev didn’t dare to show his emotions on his face. He merely smiled and ruffled Lokrai’s hair. “Almost, kiddo, almost! You’re getting there. Soon you’ll be able to hit bullseyes like it was second nature.”

Lokrai looked really happy at the praise and continued to practice throwing his knives.

Krosev looked at him, hesitated, then placed his hand on Lokrai’s shoulder. When he spoke, his voice was soft again. He couldn’t remember the last time he sounded like that. “Remember, shut one eye. Keep your back straight.”

Lokrai did as he was told obediently. That’s why he did this, Krosev reminded himself. He did this so Lokrai would obey his every command.

But at this point, he knew he was lying to himself.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's learning :) Thanks for reading!


	6. Krosev Tells Lokrai he ‘Loves’ him for the First Time (In the Only Way he Knows How)

_ (Lokrai is 15 years old here.) _

One day, while Lokrai was off studying his magic, Krosev was at this Tavern - The Black Oyster. It was on a very active section of Main Street and very popular with locals. However, not many people were there at the moment. It was the middle of the day after all.

Krosev sat at the bar and talked with his favorite bartender, Lilith. She mostly ran the place. Krosev really liked her. She didn’t put up with his bullshit and he liked that. They had a kind of on and off thing. It was complicated.

“Hey Lily,” Krosev said once she’d given him his whiskey, “I gotta ask you something.”

“Mhm?” Lilith said, giving him a look. She didn’t like being called Lily. Krosev knew this, but called her that anyway.

“You know my new warlock, Lokrai?”

“Yes, sir. Of course I do. You’ve been showing him off to everyone.”

“Well, here’s the thing. And… y’know, I’m only telling you this because I trust you very much, dollface. You wouldn’t go telling people what I say, would you?”

“No, sir,” Lilith rolled her eyes.

Krosev leaned in a bit closer to the bar, then spoke quieter, “When I first found out Lokrai got magic, I  _ needed _ to have that power working for me, y’know?”

“Mhm.”

“He’s the only one with that kind of power here. With that power on my side - especially once he gets stronger - I’ll be unstoppable. Plus, what if he ever decided he wanted to come for my throne? He’d destroy me, Lily. I’m not magic, I’m no match for that kind of power. I needed him to be  _ loyal _ to me. That way, I would know that he - as a threat - was neutralized. And… y’know, I knew he was an orphan. Everyone here knows that. And we all know how the Goldenacres treated him.”

“Mhm.”

“So I was like, great. He’ll be  _ super _ easy to manipulate. He’s an abused, touch-starved, unloved, lonely orphan boy. All I had to do was treat him with basic decency and I’ll be his  _ savior _ . He’ll be forever grateful and loyal to me. Like a dog, you know? All I had to do was pat his head when he did something good and he’d be unquestionably loyal to me.”

“Mhm.”

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, I’m listening.” Lilith was facing the opposite direction, her back to Krosev, as she cleaned up the bar. “You seem to be manipulating him pretty successfully, the poor kid. He does everything you say without hesitation.”

Krosev didn’t respond right away. He stared into his glass. “That’s just the thing though.”

Lilith turned around. When she saw Krosev’s face, she smirked. “Oh,  _ I _ know what’s happening. You actually like the kid now, don’t you?”

Krosev grimaced. He rubbed his face with his hand. “Yeah…”

Lilith laughed. “Ha! Wow, I didn’t know you were even capable of that, Krosev. I didn’t know you had a heart. Thought you just had the void there between your lungs.”

Krosev took a large gulp of his whiskey. “That kid makes me feel…  _ feelings _ . I haven’t felt those in years.”

“You’re exaggerating,” Lilith snorted. “Besides, what’s the problem if you like him? You’ve already been treating him nicely. Now you’ll just be  _ genuinely _ nice to him instead of manipulative-nice.”

Krosev stared into his glass again. “I dunno, I’m just… not used to it.”

“What? Being a genuinely nice person? Not having any ulterior motives?”

“...I guess.”

Lilith laughed again. She gestured at Krosev with her rag as she cleaned the bar. “I know what this is. You feel guilty that you manipulated him in the first place.”

Krosev hesitated. “...Maybe.”

Lilith leaned forward towards him on the bar. “You know what this calls for? You gotta be honest with him. You have to apologize.”

“Gods, no. I’m the worst at that shit.”

“Oh, Krosev, honey, you are  _ ridiculous _ .”

Krosev grinned. “Hey, you called me honey.”

“Don’t think too much about it,” Lilith pulled away. “And I think you’ll be able to be honest with him.”

“What am I supposed to say? ‘Hey kid. Just so you know, I’ve been lying to you this whole time, but now I’m not lying to you anymore! See you later!’”

“You don’t gotta say all  _ that _ . Just tell him that you really appreciate his company or something.”

Krosev didn’t respond, just thought about the words.

“Or don’t say anything, and live with the guilt forever,” Lilith continued. “It’s not like it’d be the first guilt you’d be living with.”

“That’s different,” Krosev said. “This is… different.”

“Mhm.” Lilith left to serve another customer.

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣

“Alright, show me your cards,” Krosev smirked at Lokrai. They were in Krosev’s study playing Gambit of Ord.

Lokrai put his 3 cards on the gaming table. He smiled confidently. “I got a seven of clubs, a six of diamonds, and a two of hearts. Fifteen total.”

Krosev’s smirk widened as he put his cards down. “Seven of hearts, six of clubs, 4 of clubs.”

“ _ What?! _ ” Lokrai basically shouted. Krosev burst into laughter. Lokrai leaned across the table to get an even better look at Krosev’s cards. “No way! Dammit, I was so close to beating you!”

“You’ll get there one day, kid.”

“You must be cheating,” Lokrai sat back down in his chair. Despite his tone, he was smiling widely and was only pretending to be angry. Lokrai rarely ever felt comfortable enough with someone to be able to act playful like this with them. He really trusted Krosev. “I dunno how, but you’re cheating. And one day, you’ll finally teach me  _ how _ you’re cheating, and then I’ll finally be able to beat you in a game. Cuz then we’d be evenly matched.”

“I ain’t cheating, kid,” Krosev gave a sly smile. “I just can’t seem to lose.”

“Next game we play, I’m gonna ask Asmodeus to give me some divine intervention to help me win.”

“Now  _ that’s _ cheating!”

“I don’t even  _ care _ at this point! One day I’ll beat you.”

“One day, kiddo,” Krosev collected all the cards on the table, “But not today.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lokrai looked at the clock. It was almost 9pm and he’d have to be going soon. He didn’t mention it to Krosev, hoping that if Krosev didn’t notice, he’d be able to stay longer. He loved being at Krosev’s house. Not only was it a fancy place, but it meant he got to hang out with Krosev on his own outside of work. Krosev rarely did that with any of his associates. And Lokrai  _ loved _ hanging out with Krosev. Krosev treated him with kindness that no other living person treated him with.

Unfortunately, Krosev caught Lokrai’s eyes looking at the clock and followed their gaze. He clicked his tongue. “Well, look at that, kiddo. It’s getting late. You better go home. I wouldn’t want you staying up too late. You need your sleep.”

_ ‘Who the hell have I become?’ _ Krosev thought to himself and used all his willpower to refrain from smacking himself on the forehead.  _ ‘Since when did I care about this kid’s sleep schedule? When did I get so soft?’ _

Lokrai, who was usually  _ very _ obedient and  _ always _ did what Krosev said, didn’t get up from his seat at the card table. Instead, he hesitated, thinking to himself if he could really risk disobeying like that. When he decided he trusted Krosev enough to do so, he put his chin against the table and pouted, “Do I have to go now? It’s really not even that late.”

“Oh shit, look at that. My kid’s gaining independence,” Krosev teased. “You finally reached the rebellious teenager phase, huh?”

Lokrai just blinked.

“What, my jokes aren’t funny to you anymore either?”

“You… You called me  _ your _ kid.”

Krosev frose. Fuck, how was he supposed to respond to that? “I-I… Yeah, I did.” Krosev put up his confident walls again, trying to shrug it off. “You’re the only kid that works in my inner circle. You’re my kid.”

Lokrai was beaming. His poor, abused, orphan brain was going crazy with happiness. “Wow…”

Krosev took a deep breath while Lokrai was distracted, mesmerized by his own thoughts. He thought about what Lilith told him that day. He closed his eyes. Well, this was probably the best time to do it. “Hey, kid. I gotta tell you something.”

Lokrai blinked back into focus. “Yeah?”

Krosev shifted on his feet, then decided to sit back down at the gaming table. He didn’t make eye contact with Lokrai, though. He kind of sat on the chair sideways, facing slightly away from him. “When I first met you, I… Kid, to be honest, I…” Krosev sighed and closed his eyes. “I manipulated you.”

Lokrai didn’t respond. Krosev kept his eyes looking away, not wanting to see Lokrai’s reaction.

“Back when I first found out you had magic, I was extra nice to you to manipulate you into being loyal to me. Cuz I’m a bad person. But listen, now, it’s… it’s different. I like you, kid. For real. You are one of the best guys working for me, and I trust you on the level that I trust my brothers. And… I felt like I was betraying that trust, by not telling you that I used to be manipulating you. What I’m just trying to say now is… I’m… I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I was using you at first. But it’s not like that anymore. I  _ actually _ like you, kid. I  _ actually _ care about you. You’ve gained my actual, genuine trust. I hope you know that.”

Lokrai was silent for a few long seconds. Krosev still didn’t want to look at him. He wasn’t  _ scared _ of his reaction or anything. At least, that’s what he told himself.

“I know you were manipulating me,” Lokrai finally said.

Krosev’s eyes snapped to Lokrai’s. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Lokrai chuckled and smiled weakly. “I could see that you thought you had me fooled, but… I dunno. I guess I’m smarter than you think.”

Krosev stared in disbelief. “If you knew I was manipulating you, then why did you stick around me?”

Lokrai shrugged. “I mean… No one’s ever been nice to me before - except Sylas, and he’s gone. And no one’s ever been nice to me like how  _ you’re _ nice to me. You treat me like…” Lokrai lowered his voice so it was basically a whisper, “like your kid.”

Krosev just blinked.

“And,” Lokrai’s voice returned to normal. “It was like… I didn’t care if you were being fake. I just wanted someone to be nice to me. So I went with it. I pretended it was real. I pretended someone actually cared about me. I was starting to wonder - recently - if it was still an act or not.” Lokrai looked up at Krosev and smiled wide - innocently. “I’m happy to know that it’s real now. Pretending it was real was starting to just make me sad.”

Krosev felt like the shittiest person alive. He was so confused. He hadn’t felt guilty about manipulating someone since he’d just started out in the syndicate - and that was over 30 years ago. His heart had hardened since then. This kid… How come Lokrai was able to break down all his walls like this? “I’m so sorry, kid.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I understand. Besides, I don’t think you were  _ all _ that bad to me. I mean, you were nice to me before I got my powers, so I always thought there was at least  _ some _ truth in the things you said. I’m glad it’s all true now though.” Then Lokrai laughed, “Or maybe, you’re just saying this to get me to trust you even more, and you’re really still manipulating me.”

Krosev laughed, too. “I’m not, kid. Trust me.”

“I trust you,” Lokrai said, his words sounding a bit more genuine and heavy than he’d meant them to. He looked away. “I, um, I trust you more than any living person, honestly.”

Krosev smiled - not his normal sly smile, but a gentle one. “I’m glad you do, kiddo. I trust you, too.”

After a couple seconds, he got up and walked over to where Lokrai sat. He put his hand behind his neck and guided him up to standing. Lokrai smiled at the touch.

“It’s late. Let’s get you home,” Krosev said. “I’ll walk you.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Krosev is honestly one of my favorite characters to write because he's Lawful Evil - he is an evil person. But that doesn't mean he's a cartoon evil man. He has the potential to do good things. People aren't fully completely good or bad. It's not black and white, there are many shades of gray area. And Krosev is definitely a very complex gray area. Thanks for reading!


	7. The Aftermath of Lokrai Saving Krosev’s Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place immediately after Lokrai saves Krosev from Razio's assassination attempt.

_ (Lokrai is 16 years old here.) _

Lokrai led Krosev to the living room of his house. He started moving towards the couch. “Sit-”

“No,” Krosev cut him off. “I need a drink.” He broke away from the guiding hand that Lokrai had placed on his back and went to the bar in the kitchen. Lokrai followed him.

Krosev took the top off his whiskey decanter and started pouring himself a glass. A little bit of whisky missed the glass and splashed onto the counter.

“Your hands are shaking,” Lokrai said out loud, without really thinking. He was just in so much shock from what had happened earlier. “I’ve never seen your hands shake before.”

Krosev looked at Lokrai, then at his hands, a bit of surprise on his face. “Not many people have.” With the glass full, Krosev shakily lifted it to his mouth and took a long gulp.

Lokrai held his own hands out. “My hands are shaking, too.”

Krosev didn’t say anything, but he acknowledged the gesture with a small smile as he finished off his drink. When he brought his now empty glass down, he poured more whiskey into it, topping it off. Then he walked over to the couch. Lokrai followed him.

Krosev sat down on the leather cushions, but Lokrai did not. He just stood beside him. “Can I get you anything?”

Krosev took another long sip of his drink. When he finished, he ignored Lokrai’s question. Maybe he didn’t even register that Lokrai asked it. “Y’know, the underboss is supposed to be the person that the boss trusts the most. But over the years, I’ve trusted Razio less and less - even though he was my brother. I wonder why I ever kept him in that position.”

Lokrai shifted on his feet, not knowing what to say.

“I was in a whole room full of people I trust,” Krosev continued, staring into his glass. “The  _ only _ people I trust were in that room. And yet,” he looked up at Lokrai, “ _ You _ was the only one to stand up and defend me.” He paused. “You think they was all in on it? That’s why they did nothing to stop it?”

“They didn’t look like they was in on it. They just looked surprised and scared.”

“You was scared, too. That didn’t stop you.”

Lokrai shifted on his feet some more. “A wise man once told me about something called the fight or flight response. When there’s something scary, some people choose flight and they cower, and some people choose fight and they lash out.”

Krosev looked up at Lokrai again and smiled, a little softer than his usual mafia-boss-worthy smile. “I should thank you, shouldn’t I? For saving my life.”

Lokrai shrugged. “I mean… now we’re even. You saved my life, back when you told me that. Now I saved yours.”

Krosev chuckled and patted the leather of the couch cushion next to him. “Sit, kid.”

Lokrai sat next to him.

“I really mean it. Thank you,” Krosev said sincerely.

Lokrai was almost scared by how open Krosev was being right now. It made him want to be open, too. He hadn’t been that open to anyone but Krosev since Sylas died (well, besides Sylas). “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. You’re… You’re like a father to me, you know.”

Krosev’s face changed, visibly showing some emotion that Lokrai couldn’t recognise. It was like surprise or shock, but it wasn’t. It was softer than that.

Lokrai panicked. He looked away, down at his fidgeting hands. “A-A-And besides, if you went and died then I’d never get the chance to beat you in a card game. I can’t have that happening, can I? I need to beat you one day.”

In the next moment, Krosev’s usual smile spread across his face. He laughed and clapped a hand around Lokrai’s shoulders. “That’s my boy,” he said for the third time that day.

Lokrai smiled again.

“How about we play a game of cards right now?” Krosev said. “Maybe you’ll beat me this time.”

“You sure you don’t wanna like… I dunno… take a nap? Or something?”

“And be alone with my thoughts?” Krosev smiled. “No way, kiddo. Let’s play Gambit of Ord.”

They played for a while, and then afterward they just talked - anything to distract them from what had just happened. When it hit 9pm and Lokrai had to leave, Krosev walked him outside.

“See you tomorrow, Krosev!” Lokrai said, throwing on his jacket. It was starting to get cold outside. He turned back to Krosev, waiting for him to say something in return, but he was just staring at him. There was something in his expression that Lokrai couldn’t quite recognise - something soft and warm. “Krosev?”

Krosev blinked and snapped out of his thoughts. He reached forward and hugged Lokrai for the second time that day. “See ya, my boy. Thanks again.”

Lokrai tried not to freak out. He hugged back, trying not to seem too excited. “Y-You’re welcome.”

After a bit longer than a normal hug, Krosev pulled away and patted Lokrai on the back. “Go get some sleep. You deserve it.”

Lokrai’s eyes lit up at the word ‘deserve’, for a reason that Krosev wouldn’t know about until a later. “Thank you,” Lokrai nodded, then turned around and left down the street.

Krosev watched him leave, a lot of thoughts on his mind.

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣

Lokrai walked into the Black Oyster the next morning, ready to work. He sat down at the bar, said hi to Lilith, and waited for his assignment.

He was surprised when Krosev came out of the back room, spotted him, and said, “Lokrai! Come here. I want to talk to you.”

Krosev usually just gave him his assignment in the bar, so it was weird to be invited to the back office like this. He got a bit nervous. “A-Alright.” Lokrai stood up and followed Krosev into the back room.

The back room of the Black Oyster was next to the kitchens. It was kind of like an office but with a bit more room. It wasn’t the fanciest, but it served its purpose.

Krosev walked behind his desk and poured himself a glass of whiskey from his decanter. “Take a seat,” he nodded towards the chair on the opposite side of the desk.

Lokrai sat down.

“I had a lot to think about last night,” Krosev said. He finished pouring his drink and put the decanter down. “About what happened yesterday.” He drank from his glass and sat down at his desk. “With Razio dead, I need someone to take his place. I need a new underboss.”

Lokrai just nodded, not seeing where Krosev was going with this. “Yeah?”

Krosev laughed a bit as he saw how Lokrai didn’t react. “Kid, I want  _ you _ to replace him.”

Lokrai’s white eyes went wide. “W-W-What?  _ Me _ ?!”

“Yeah, kiddo. I trust you more than anyone else I know. You’re the most loyal to me. Plus, you got your magic that makes you super powerful. All of that would make you a great second in command.”

“I-I… I thought you’d choose one someone in your family.”

Krosev stared intensely, preparing himself to say his next statement. “You’re right, kiddo. I  _ do _ wanna choose someone in my family.”

Lokrai blinked, eyebrows furrowed. “Wha…”

“Yesterday, you told me that you saw me as a father,” Krosev said.

Lokrai’s eyes lit up again. This… This couldn’t be going where he  _ thought _ it was going, could it?

Krosev leaned back in his deck chair. “It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve finally admitted to myself that I see you as my son, Lokrai.”

Lokrai’s hand covered his mouth. He was about to cry.

Krosev smiled. For the first time in a long while, he was causing someone to be happy. No ulterior motive, no manipulation - just making Lokrai happy, making  _ himself _ happy. Feelings still felt so strange to him, but this feeling felt… nice. “And I want you to be my son - for real. I’d like to adopt you into my family.”

That set the tears loose. Lokrai’s shoulders shook with suppressed sobs. He couldn’t speak. All his words were trapped in his throat.

“Would you like that?”

Lokrai nodded feverishly like his life depended on it. “Y-Yes. Please. Oh my Gods, Krosev,  _ thank _ you-”

“C’mere, kiddo,” Krosev stood up and opened his arms.

Lokrai ran over and talked Krosev in a big hug. Krosev laughed and carded his fingers through Lokrai’s hair.

“My son.”

A loud sob escaped Lokrai’s mouth. He couldn’t believe this. This was too good to be true. Krosev was the only person alive that showed Lokrai true kindness. Lokrai already admired him so much. But now, with  _ this _ , Krosev was like Lokrai’s  _ savior _ .

A small part of Krosev’s brain - the most evil, worst part of him - thought to himself,  _ Good. Now there is no chance of this boy ever betraying you. He worships you. _

But Krosev shook that off. That wasn’t the reason he was doing this. He could… He could do nice things. He had that potential. He was a bad person, but he could do nice things. He’d do nice things for Lokrai. He’d do nice things for his son.

“Sh-Should I call you father?” Lokrai looked up and asked.

“Sure, kiddo - father, dad, pops - any of that.” Krosev ran his fingers through Krosev’s hair again.

Lokrai sniffed and nodded again. “O-Okay. Thank you, father.”

Something set off inside Krosev at that word - by being called father. This must’ve been how Lokrai felt when Krosev called him ‘son’.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I write a lot of Irondad & Spiderson? Lmao. Thanks for reading!


	8. Lokrai Starts Living with Krosev

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of past abuse.

_ (Lokrai is 16 years old here.) _

One of Krosev’s guest rooms became Lokrai’s room. It was the fanciest room he’d ever slept in. It had a large closet, bookshelves, a desk, fancy candles, and a large, comfortable bed.

It was great, but it was also intimidating. Lokrai was so happy to get to live here, but he felt so out of place, like he didn’t belong.

For the first night Lokrai spent in his new room, he couldn’t fall asleep.

He tossed and turned in his big, soft, comfy bed. It felt like a cloud. Lokrai was never allowed to sleep on a bed at the Goldacres. They forced him to sleep on a dirty mattress on the floor. Sometimes he’d try and sneak into an empty bed or into Sylas’s bed for the night, but when the Goldenacres caught him, they’d beat him. They’d tell him he was a disgusting tiefling and wasn’t worthy of a bed - that he didn’t deserve a bed. He was an impure demon child and was meant to sleep on the floor.

So as Lokrai laid in the extravagant bed that Krosev had given him, he felt anxious. He felt like he didn’t deserve that bed. And sure, logically his brain knew that the Goldenacres were wrong and that he deserved basic things like a  _ bed _ , but logic gets thrown out the window when it comes down to anxiety and trauma. Lokrai couldn’t stay in that bed. His anxiety told him that someone was going to hurt him if he stayed in that bed. He wasn’t allowed in that bed. He didn’t deserve that bed.

Lokrai got out of bed and sat on the wood floor. He wasn’t even tired anymore. He decided he’d read and practice his magic until the sun rose. He didn’t need to sleep anyway.

The day after, Krosev noticed the dark bags under his kid’s eyes. Not only that, but he noticed how he kept nodding off at the table during breakfast, too. “You sleep okay, kiddo?”

“Y-Yeah!” Lokrai said. It was too early in the morning and he was too tired to lie well. “Yeah, it’s just, y’know, sleeping in a new place. It’s unfamiliar. But I’ll get used to it.”

“Is there anything I can get for you to make you more comfortable?”

“No! No, I’m fine, Kros- Dad. I-I’m fine.”

Krosev knew the kid was obviously lying, but he let the topic go.

That night, Lokrai still couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned and his brain worried and worried. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and got out of the bed.

He slept on the floor that night.

And that morning, Krosev once again noticed the bags under Lokrai’s eyes, plus how his kid kept rubbing his neck. It looked like it ached. “How much sleep you get last night?”

Lokrai blinked to attention. “E-Enough.”

Krosev gestured with his fork. “Alright kid, you can lie to me now. But later today, we’re talking about this. Think about what you wanna tell me, cuz we  _ will _ be talking.”

Lokrai looked down at his breakfast. “Okay, dad.” He smiled faintly to himself. Calling Krosev ‘dad’ always cheered him up, even in a situation like this.

That evening, Lokrai was going to sneak off to his room after dinner, hopefully avoiding the conversation Krosev wanted to have, but Krosev caught him.

“Ey, where do you think you’re going? We still need to talk about why you’re not sleeping.”

Lokrai froze in place, not knowing what to do. Maybe he should just run.

Krosev patted the space on the couch next to him. “C’mon, kid. Sit next to me.”

Lokrai reluctantly went over to Krosev and sat next to him. He felt nervous. He felt like he was in trouble. He knew Krosev would never hurt him, but… his brain liked to worry.

Krosev sighed. “Why aren’t you sleeping, son?”

Lokrai almost grimaced. He loved being called ‘son’, but in this context, it made him feel guilty. He was being so annoying and weird. He was being such a burden to Krosev. He didn’t deserve to be called ‘son’.

“Why haven’t you been sleeping?” Krosev pressured him again, responding to Lokrai’s silence.

Lokrai shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Don’t lie to me, son.”

Lokrai looked away. Why did he think he could successfully get out of this? Krosev was a master interrogator. It was basically his job to get secrets out of people. He might as well just be honest, even if he felt ashamed. That would just be easier. “I… It’s hard for me to sleep in that bed.”

Krosev furrowed his eyebrows. “I can get you another bed if you want. It’s not that big a deal-”

“No, it’s… it’s not like that.” Lokrai put his head in his hands. He didn’t know how to talk about this. Or at least, he didn’t know how to talk about it without crying. “It’s… It’s just…” Lokrai took a deep breath. “I’ve never slept in a real bed before.”

Krosev blinked. “You…  _ what? _ ”

“The Goldenacres made me sleep on a mattress on the floor,” Lokrai said. He took another breath. “They never washed that mattress, either. They said I had dirty blood so I deserved to sleep on the dirty mattress. And every time I tried to sleep in a bed, they’d beat me.”

Krosev was speechless. “They… oh my gods, Lokrai…”

“Every time I try to sleep in that nice bed you gave me, I… I dunno. I feel like I’m gonna get beaten, cuz that’s what they’d do. They told me all the time how I didn’t deserve stuff like a bed and clean clothes and stuff. It’s… still a bit hard for my brain to understand that I  _ do _ deserve those things sometimes.” Lokrai took another deep breath, controlling himself, trying not to cry. “I guess I just have bad feelings associated with beds.”

Eventually, Krosev gained the ability to speak again. “Kid, if I’d known, I would’ve given you a better place to live when you first started working for me-”

“No, even  _ that _ was better than what I was used to. So all this,” Lokrai gestured around, “I’m  _ really _ not used to this. But I’ll… I’ll get over it. Eventually.”

Krosev didn’t know what to say. He wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. “So, you just didn’t sleep the past two nights?”

“The first night, I stayed up all night and practiced my magic. Last night…” Lokrai hung his head, ashamed. “I um… I slept on the floor.”

Krosev sucked in a breath, grimacing. “Gods, kid. You  _ chose _ to-”

“Yeah.” Lokrai didn’t make eye contact.

Again, Krosev didn’t know what to say. He wanted to  _ kill _ the Goldenacres for fucking up his kid so bad. But he couldn’t right now. He had to help his son. He had to do  _ something _ .

He stood up. “C’mon, let’s go to your room.”

Lokrai squinted. “Wha-?”

“C’mon, let’s go.” Krosev left down the hall.

Lokrai stood up and curiously followed.

Once they got to Lokrai’s room, Krosev stood by Lokrai’s bed. “Come lie down. I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”

Lokrai’s eyes went wide. “Y-You don’t have to-”

“I wanna help, kiddo. I can’t stand that you’re not getting the sleep you need.” When Lokrai still didn’t move, he nodded towards the bed again. “C’mon.”

Tears pricked at Lokrai’s eyes. Something childish and instinctual awoke inside him. He shook his head. “No.”

“No one’s gonna hurt you, Lokrai. You’re my son now. You don’t belong to them.”

“No!” Lokrai shouted. He was breathing so quickly and shaking so much. He felt so embarrassed. He was 16, but he felt like a little kid - like the memories of his trauma made his brain feel like a child again. “N-No! I can’t!”

“Yes you can, son. It’s alright.” Krosev approached Lokrai and put a hand on his shoulder.

Lokrai flinched back at the touch. “No, stop!” He was practically  _ screaming _ through his sobs now. “I-I’m a tiefling! I don’t deserve it! I make the beds dirty! I belong on the dirty mattress! I don’t deserve a bed! I don’t deserve a bed! I don’t deserve-”

“Hey, look at me,” Krosev’s voice dropped down to that soft tone that he only ever used with Lokrai. “Son, look at me. Breathe.”

Krosev’s voice calmed Lokrai down. His brain recognised it and latched onto it like a lifeline. Krosev was there. Krosev - his  _ father _ \- was there. Lokrai would be okay. Krosev showed him kindness. He could trust Krosev.

“That’s right, breathe, kiddo. In and out.”

Lokrai continued to take deep breaths. “I-I-I’m sorry-”

“No, none of that,” Krosev shook his finger. “Now, we’re going to try this again, okay? Go lie on your bed so you can go to sleep.”

Lokrai’s breaths started to quicken again. “N-No. I don’t deserve-”

“You  _ do _ deserve it, kiddo,” Krosev said softly, running his hand comfortingly through Lokrai’s hair. “You deserve to have that bed.”

Lokrai choked on his tears. Something inside him broke. The combination of what Krosev said with his tone of voice, plus his fingers in his hair - it made a little spark go off inside him. It made him start to believe that maybe Krosev was right. His father - his  _ savior _ \- was telling him that. He must be right.

Lokrai nervously nodded. He shakily walked over to the bed and laid down in it.

“There we go, buddy,” Krosev praised. His voice sounded a bit like he was talking to a child, but Lokrai didn’t care. In fact, he kind of liked it. It’s what he felt like he needed right now.

Despite the fact that he was able to get in the bed, Lokrai still didn’t feel the most comfortable there. He still had the bad memories of being beat associated with memories of lying in beds. Those bad memories crept up on him. He started feeling anxious again. He wanted to get out.

“I’m gonna stay with you until you fall asleep, okay?” Krosev said and rubbed Lokrai’s back, occasionally carding his hand through Lokrai’s hair. “You’re okay. You deserve this, kiddo. You deserve this.”

Tears spilled down Lokrai’s cheeks again, but these were tears of relief rather than sadness. He was starting to really believe Krosev now. Krosev was so kind to him. Everything Krosev said was correct. Krosev was always right. Lokrai was okay if Krosev said he was. Lokrai deserved this if Krosev said he did. He felt tingles on his skin where Krosev’s hand rubbed his back, and especially when his fingers dragged against his scalp through his hair. He let out a shaky breath - the first breath he’d had in a while that felt truly calm.

“That’s right, buddy,” Krosev’s voice was so soft. “You’re okay. You deserve this bed.”

Lokrai struggled to keep his eyes open. After sleeping so badly for two nights in a row, he felt  _ so _ goddamn tired right now.

He fell asleep within 5 minutes.

After he fell asleep, Krosev stepped away. He couldn’t believe he’d just done that. He’d tried to help, and he succeeded. He could be nice. He had the potential to be nice.

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣

The next morning, Lokrai woke up in that big, soft, comfy bed.

For a moment, he freaked out. He almost jumped right out of the bed, but he stopped himself. Krosev said he deserved it. He… He deserved this. A few words from Krosev wouldn’t reverse years of abuse, but it would help. Gods, did it help.

At breakfast, Krosev was glad to see Lokrai looking well rested.

That night, Lokrai was nervous to go to bed again. He didn’t know if he’d be able to sleep that night just because he was able to sleep in his bed the night before.

Luckily, Krosev was prepared. “You need me again tonight?”

Lokrai was much more embarrassed about receiving help when he wasn’t actively in the middle of a panic attack. “U-Um, I mean, if it’s okay-”

“It’s fine, kid. I’m happy to help. Let’s go.”

They went to Lokrai’s room. Lokrai hesitantly laid down in his comfy bed. He laid there, his whole body tense.

Krosev’s hand ran through his hair, ending at his neck. Lokrai’s tense muscles immediately started to loosen up. He was okay. Krosev was here.

“It’s like I have to rewrite all your bad childhood memories with good ones instead,” Krosev mused, noticing how Lokrai acted a bit more childlike when he got anxious about this sort of thing.

“Y-Yeah,” Lokrai admitted, embarrassed. “I-I’m sorry-”

“Nah kiddo, it’s okay with me. I wanna help you.”

Lokrai took a deep breath to take in those words. Krosev  _ wanted _ to help him.

Krosev kept rubbing his back and carding his hair. He started to softly say soothing sentences, trying to rewrite the bad programming in Lokrai’s head. “You deserve this. You’re my son, Lokrai. You deserve this and much more. You’re a good kid. You deserve this. You’re my son. You’re a tiefling, yes, but that doesn’t matter. You still deserve this bed. You’re still my son.”

Krosev went quiet for a moment. Lokrai was close to tears at all the praise. He felt like he didn’t deserve any of it, but Krosev said he  _ did _ deserve it.

Krosev finally spoke again. “I love you, son.”

Lokrai choked on a sob. He went a little tense. “I-I don’t deserve that-”

“Yes, you do, son.” Gods, this kid was breaking Krosev’s heart. “You deserve to be loved, kiddo. You do. I love you, my son.”

Lokrai started to cry silently - tears of relief, tears of joy. His body racked with his silent sobs. He caught Krosev’s hand in his and squeezed it for a second. “I-I love you too, Dad. I love you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, kiddo,” Krosev said, running his fingers through Lokrai’s hair. He pressed a kiss to Lokrai’s head between his horns. “You deserve it.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked that hurt/comfort. Thanks for reading! I'll update soon!


	9. Snuggles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Platonic cuddles time :)

_ (Lokrai is 16 years old here.) _

After a few nights of Krosev staying with Lokrai until he fell asleep, Lokrai was already feeling better. He still needed Krosev there in order to fall asleep, but he wasn’t terrified of the idea of sleeping in a bed anymore.

Krosev expressed this to Lilith one afternoon while Lokrai was off on a mission for the syndicate.

“The poor thing,” Lilith said sorrowfully. “I’m glad you’re actually being nice to him, Krosev. It’s very noble of you, honestly, taking him in like this. He deserves a good father.”

Krosev tried to accept the compliment. He still wasn’t used to the idea of being a ‘good’ anything. He was a bad person - he killed, manipulated, and tortured people. How could he do that, yet at the same time be so good and caring towards Lokrai? It didn’t make sense to him, yet here he was. “It’s really easy, honestly. All I have to do is show  _ any _ form of basic kindness and he’s thanking me profusely.”

“Staying with him and rubbing his back until he falls asleep is more than just basic kindness, Krosev. Some  _ biological _ parents don’t do that to their kids. I don’t think  _ you’re _ parents ever did that, did they?”

Krosev shrugged. “Maybe my mother. Once or twice. When I was very little.”

“Exactly.” Lilith stared at Krosev, trying to see what was going on inside that mind. “You know, you’re allowed to like taking care of him. You’re allowed to like being nice to him.”

“It just feels so weird. I’m not normally a very… nice person.”

“He’s your family, right? Isn’t this how you mafia people always are? You’d kill anyone for your family. You could be a terrible person to everyone - you don’t care. But your family? No, you love your family. You’ll always love and support your family.”

Krosev contemplated this. “Well, what about Razio?”

“Razio proved not to be your real family in the end. Family don’t treat each other like that. Lokrai on the other hand? He might not be biologically yours, but he sure is your family.”

Krosev sighed. That all made so much sense. “Thanks, Lily.”

“Anything else you need to vent at me, sir?” Lilith said smugly.

Krosev thought for a moment. “I… I want to help Lokrai even more. Do you know how I can?”

“Well, he’s a special little boy, isn’t he? He needs special care. He had a really hard life as a young child, and because of that his brain is a little different than ours are. You’re gonna have to treat him differently than you’d treat a normal boy his age. Sometimes he may act like a little kid. You’ll need to treat him more like a little kid when that happens, and you’re gonna have to show as much love to him as you can in those moments so you can rewrite all that bad stuff from his real childhood.”

Krosev nodded. “Yeah. I think I can do that. Thanks.”

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣

Later that night, Lokrai was lying in bed, and Krosev was staying with him. He rubbed his back, ran his fingers through his hair, and said soothing words in his soft tone of voice. It had become a normal routine at this point. Usually, Lokrai fell asleep within 5-10 minutes.

But it had been longer than 10 minutes, and Lokrai was still awake.

“You doing okay there, kiddo?” Krosev whispered in his calming tone, still rubbing his son’s back. “You don’t seem to be falling asleep.”

“I… I dunno…” Lokrai shifted in his bed, and Krosev realized how tense he was under his hand. “I’m just more anxious than usual tonight. It goes up and down, you know? Today, it’s up. I’m sure I’ll fall asleep eventually.”

Krosev thought he wasn’t making any progress like this. He had an idea, but he wasn’t sure he should do it. He wasn’t sure someone like him  _ could _ do it. He finally thought  _ fuck it _ and decided to try anyway. “Scoot over.”

Lokrai looked up at him. “What?”

“Move over. That way,” he gestured forward. “I’m going to lie down next to you.”

Lokrai’s eyes went wide. “Y-You don’t need to do that if you don’t want-”

“I want to, buddy. It’s okay. You’re so touch-starved. You deserve some snuggles.”

_ Deserve _ . That was the word that convinced Lokrai to move over and make space from his dad.

Krosev couldn’t believe he’d just said the word ‘snuggles’ out loud, yet he didn’t care. He laid down next to Lokrai and tried his best not to be awkward. He hoped it was working. “C’mere, kid. Put your head here,” he tapped on the space between his chest and his collarbone, “And watch your horns.”

Lokrai shifted over and carefully laid his head down where Krosev had gestured to. After a few seconds of adjusting his position so his horns wouldn’t hurt his father, he settled in. This  _ did _ feel nice. He could kind of hear Krosev’s heartbeat. It was calming - grounding. He was a little embarrassed, but he tried to ignore it.

Krosev wrapped his arm around Lokrai, his hand landing in his black hair, running his fingers through the back of it over and over. Any embarrassment Lokrai had previously felt was now gone. This was the best. He felt surrounded by warmth. His skin felt tingly where Krosev touched it. He felt so… so  _ loved _ . His brain couldn’t help but think he didn’t deserve this, but Krosev had said he did. Krosev was always right.

Lokrai felt a bit like a little kid - like a young, fragile, clingy kid. But he didn’t care. He  _ needed _ this. He wanted better childhood memories. This could replace them.

“No one’s ever held me like this before,” Lokrai whispered.

Krosev acknowledged the statement with a more forceful run-through of his fingers through Lokrai’s hair. He tried to ignore the heartbreak in his chest and instead focus on helping his son. “Well, you have me now.”

Lokrai exhaled. He just felt so happy, but it was a calm type of happiness. It felt so nice.

Krosev started to say his soothing sentences again, and now Lokrai felt his father’s soft, deep voice reverberate in his chest as he spoke. That added a whole other calming layer to this. “You deserve his, Lokrai. You’re my son. I love you. You deserve love. You deserve kindness. You deserve a bed. You deserve a family. I love you, my son. My precious boy. I love you so much.”

Lokrai listened, synced his breathing with the rhythm of his father’s breathing, and let himself be lulled to sleep.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love my evil but good father and son. Thanks for reading!


	10. Lokrai Wants to Look like his Father

Krosev checked his fancy gold pocket watch for the third time within 5 minutes. He impatiently tapped his cane against his living room floorboards. Lokrai had been in the washroom for 10 whole minutes now. They had to leave for the Black Oyster and start that day’s work.

“Lokrai?” Krosev called to him from across the house. “We have to go.”

There was a crashing sound, and Krosev heard a quiet curse.

“Son?”

“A-Are we gonna be late?” Lokrai called from the other room.

“I mean, it doesn’t matter when I show up - I’m the boss.” Krosev was now walking over to the washroom door. “The others might be annoyed if it’s later than usual, though.”

Another curse. “Um- Okay, I’ll- I’ll be out in a sec.”

“What’s got you in there, kid?”

“I-It’s nothing! Just… bad hair day, is all.”

The end of Krosev’s lips curled into a smile. “Should I come in there?”

“No no no no no Dad! It’s okay! I-”

“I’m coming in.”

“No, wait!”

Krosev opened the washroom door and stepped inside. Standing in front of the sink facing the mirror was Lokrai. Jars and bottles of hair products were scattered all across the table. Lokrai’s hair was flat against his skull like a helmet. He shrunk back as soon as he saw Krosev.

Krosev couldn’t help but smile wider. He started laughing, but not a malicious laugh. It was warm, soothing. “Were you trying to do something, kiddo?”

Lokrai looked at the ground. “Dad… how… how do you do your hair?”

Krosev’s eyes widened just a bit, his smile still secure on his face. “You wanna do your hair like mine?”

Lokrai nodded, scratching behind his neck. “…Yeah.”

Krosev walked up Lokrai and stood beside him. “Alright. Wash all this gunk outta your hair first and then I’ll help you.”

“Will I make us late?”

“Ehh, it don’t matter if we’re late,” Krosev waved his hand. “I told you, kiddo - I’m the boss. I can show up whenever I want.”

Lokrai smiled. “Okay, Dad.”

After washing his hair out in the sink and drying it lightly with a towel, Lokrai hesitantly held his head up. Krosev wrapped an arm around him, his other hand holding a bottle. He poured out a smidge of product from the bottle into his other hand, arm still around Lokrai.

“See that? That’s all you need,” Krosev said. “Now, where’s the comb?”

Lokrai handed his father the comb.

Krosev began to comb Lokrai’s black hair back, in between his horns. Then he massaged the product through it. “You gotta spread it evenly through your hair, even if you don’t think that part needs it. And you gotta do that while it’s still damp.”

“O-Okay.” Lokrai was a little embarrassed, but he was more relieved. Krosev was helping him, and his fingers felt nice against Lokrai’s scalp. 

Krosev then took the comb and methodically shaped Lokrai’s hair with his experienced hands. The motions came so naturally to him, although he had to maneuver between Lokrai’s horns. “See? Watch my hands.”

And Lokrai did. He stared at his father’s tan, callused hands in the mirror, fingers adorned by dozens of rings. He watched them like they were a god’s hands molding the earth.

“You go in the direction of the hair,” Krosev said as he combed. “You start from the front, then you shape it upwards.” Krosev dragged the comb up between Lokrai’s horns, forming a little bump of black hair, then combed back the rest. “That way it looks full and not flat,  _ capito _ ?” Krosev chuckled and finished up combing. The greased ends of Lokrai’s long hair spiked out behind his neck. “Your hair’s a bit longer than mine, but other than that, that’s how I do my hair.”

Lokrai looked at himself in the mirror. He reached a hand up and felt his hair. Even though it was longer, he liked it. He liked the spikey parts at the bottom. But more importantly, he liked how it made him look more like his father. He was a tiefling. He looked so different from his dad that sometimes it made him insecure. But this - this made them look similar, if only by a little bit.

“You like it?” Krosev asked, and he could tell this meant more to Lokrai than just pure superficial looks.

“Y-Yeah! I do! I like it a lot!” Lokrai said. “Do, um, do you think it looks good?”

Krosev laughed and clapped an arm around Lokrai’s shoulders. “Of course it looks good, kiddo. You look just like my son.”

Lokrai melted under the words, a laugh bubbling out from his own throat as well. “Th-Thanks, Dad.”

“Ah, don’t mention it, kid.” Krosev went to ruffle Lokrai’s hair, but then stopped when he realized that would mess up the work he’d just done. He laughed and ruffled the hair just on the back of Lokrai’s neck. Lokrai laughed a bit, too. “Now let’s go. We’re already late enough.”

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣

“Dad?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“Can I get my ears pierced?”

Krosev looked up from the book he was reading and looked over at Lokrai on the other side of the couch. Specifically, he stared at his pointy ear. “Huh, I barely noticed that you didn’t have your ears pierced already. Sure, bud. We definitely can. How many you want?”

“Um… I dunno,” Lokrai answered. “I at least want one.”

“You should get a few on each side. You got the space,” Krosev laughed.

Lokrai laughed a bit, too. “True, yeah. Okay, I’ll get a bunch, but only one of them will be dangley - the one on my right side.”

“Like mine?”

“Y-Yeah, just like uh… like yours,” Lokrai said shyly.

Krosev smiled. This was only about a week after Lokrai started doing his hair like him. He thought it was adorable how much the kid looked up to him and wanted to be like him. “Let’s go now.”

“What?”

“Yeah, c’mon,” Krosev put down his book and got up from the couch. “Let’s go get your ears pierced. It’s only midday, and it doesn’t take long at all. C’mon. Get your shoes on.”

They went to get Lokrai’s eyes pierced at the jeweler. Lokrai ended up getting 5 piercings - 3 on his right and 2 on his left. All of them were golden studs except for one small, golden hoop on his right ear.

While they were at the jeweler, Lokrai realized something. “I should get more rings. I wanna wear more.”

Krosev smiled and gave a chuckle, knowing that Lokrai wanted this because Krosev wore tons of rings. “Sure, kiddo. Pick out whatever you want.”

Lokrai’s eyes lit up. “Thanks so much, dad!” He rushed over to the shelves to pick out his rings.

They eventually left the jeweler, decked out in gold and silver, and Lokrai felt more like a Ferroti than he ever had before.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	11. Lokrai Disappoints Krosev

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter!! Hope you enjoy it!

_ (Lokrai is 16 years old here.) _

Krosev returned from his study and entered the living room. “Son?”

Lokrai looked up to face his Krosev. He smiled. Now matter how many times Krosev called him that, Lokrai was always overjoyed at the sound of it. He’d been living with Krosev for just about a month now. “Yes, father?”

Krosev smiled as well. He, too, felt a burst of happiness go through him whenever Lokrai called him that, no matter how many times he had before. “Come here.”

Lokrai got up from where he sat on the couch and walked over to Krosev in the doorway. “What is it, Dad?”

“I have a job for you,” Krosev said. “There is a man who lives on 34th street named Tiberius Alman. He asked to borrow 1,000 gold from us, and I said he had 3 weeks to pay us back. That was 5 weeks ago. After 3 weeks, he didn’t have the money. He begged and begged for his life, so out of the kindness of my heart I gave him mercy. I extended the deadline another week, plus a 100 gold fee. When that week ended, he  _ still _ didn’t have the money, so I showed him kindness again. I extended the deadline  _ another _ week, plus another 100 gold fee. Today is the day he must pay up. You are gonna go collect our money from him - and this time if he doesn’t have the money, he dies. You understand that?”

Lokrai nodded obediently. “Yes, father.”

Krosev smiled and ran his fingers through the long hair greased against Lokrai’s neck. “Good, my son. Be back soon.”

Lokrai made his way over to the address his father told him. The sun was setting, painting the sky orange and pink. He walked with purpose, his fancy shoes clopping against the cobblestone street. His fancy clothes swished around him. His jewelry clinked with each confident footstep. His cane with the gold handle - just like his father’s - tapped against the street as he walked with it.

Eventually he got to the home of Tibirous Alman. He knocked on the door. Tiberius opened it, saw Lokrai, and immediately knew what was going on. He begged and begged to please not kill him, that he’d have the money next week. Lokrai said he had orders from his father himself to kill Tiberius if he didn’t have the money, but Tiberius kept begging. He wept and said how his mother would miss him, how the new girl he was starting to talk to would be heartbroken. Those sentiments caught up to Lokrai. Putting out the flames in his hands, he sneered and grabbed Tiberius’s collar.

“Alright, alright, you sniveling brat!” Lokrai snarled. “One. More. Week. Plus interest. And then that’s it. If you don’t have the money by next week, I will  _ kill _ you myself.”

Tiberius sniffed and wiped his tears away. “Th-Thank you! Oh, thank you, Young Ferroti!”

“Yeah, yeah, just get the money,” Lokrai said as he walked out of Tiberius’s house and slammed the door.

As he walked home, Lokrai’s steps were not as confident. He was upset that he didn’t get the outcome he was hoping for, but that was the only reason he wasn’t happy.

He never expected his father’s reaction.

Lokrai entered his house and shut the door, sulking. “I’m back.”

Krosev, who was sitting on the couch and reading a book, looked up and noticed that Lokrai was empty handed. He sucked his teeth. “He still didn’t have the money?”

“Yeah.”

“A shame,” Krosev said and looked back down at his book, about to turn the page.

“I gave him another week.”

Krosev froze, his hand mid-page-turn. “You… You  _ what _ ?”

Lokrai - now standing in the living room across from Krosev - furrowed his brow, confused. He didn’t recognise his father’s tone of voice. Krosev never sounded like that - or, at least, he’d never sounded like that when talking to  _ Lokrai _ . “I-I gave him another week to pay-”

“No, no,  _ no _ !” Krosev angrily stood up and Lokrai flinched. “What did I  _ specifically _ tell you to do if he didn’t have the money?!”

“K-Kill him?”

“That’s right! So why didn’t you?!”

“He begged me not to-”

“Oh, so he  _ asked _ you not to kill him? So you didn’t? How nice, son! Do his words mean more than mine?”

Lokrai was in shock. He covered his mouth, stopping the sobs that threatened to burst from it. Tears pricked his white eyes. All his mind thought about was the Goldenacres screaming at him and beating him - telling him to sleep on the floor, kicking him out into the street. He tried to snap out of it. “N-N-No, sir. I-I’m sorry, sir-”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, kid,” Krosev said. He wasn’t yelling anymore, but his words were still sharp and accentuated. He gestured a lot with his hands. “We don’t give more than two extentions in this family! Even  _ that _ is too much, but I occasionally allow it when I see fit. If he doesn’t have it now, he must  _ die _ . If people find out that oh, all they have to do is beg and cry and snivel, then we’ll let them do  _ anything _ \- our influence slips! It took a lot of work to rise up to the level of influence we have now and we  _ must _ maintain it! Do you understand?!”

Lokrai was in tears now, hiccuping between quiet sobs. He nodded his head. “Y-Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I’m so sorry-”

Krosev picked up his cane from where it leaned on the side of the couch. He looked at Lokrai, then quickly looked away. He took a deep breath. When he spoke again, his voice was much calmer, which was almost worse than when it was angry. “I’m disappointed in you, Lokrai.”

Lokrai gasped, but it just came out as a particularly loud sob. “I-I’m so sorry, sir. Please-”

“We will fix this tomorrow,” Krosev said. “For now, it’s late. Go to bed.” He entered the master bedroom and shut the door behind him.

Lokrai’s knees buckled out from under him and he fell to the ground. His mind was racing as tears still spilled from his eyes. Krosev  _ hated _ him. Krosev yelled at him and was disappointed in him, which meant he  _ hated him _ . The only man alive that loved Lokrai now  _ hated him _ . Lokrai ruined it. Lokrai hated  _ himself _ for causing his father to now hate him. Krosev was probably going to disown him. He was going to kick him back out onto the street just like the Goldenacres did. Lokrai’s breathing got really fast. He faintly saw Sylas’s ghost trying to calm him down, but Lokrai didn’t acknowledge him. He was too wrapped up in his own mind.

Suddenly, all of Lokrai’s fear and hatred turned into anger - pure, unadulterated  _ rage _ . He was angry at himself for being weak. He was angry at Tiberius for causing this whole thing in the first place.

Lokrai looked at the door to his room, then turned around and left his house. He knew what he had to do.

Meanwhile, in his room, Krosev got into bed and realized that Lokrai had called him ‘sir’ for the first time in months.

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣

Lokrai stormed down the street. His cane was still at home, so nothing slowed him down. It was fully nighttime now, the sky dark and speckled with stars. When he reached Tiberius’s house again, he gathered white-hot magical energy in his hands and cast Eldritch Blast at the front door, sending it off its hinges and crashing into the house. Lokrai stormed in, mind focused on one purpose.

A very frightened Tiberius ran down the stairs. “I-I thought you gave me another-”

“ _ Shut up _ !” Lokrai shouted. “This is all your fault!”

“W-What is?”

“I’m gonna give you one more chance!” Lokrai snarled. “Give me the  _ fucking money _ or I am gonna  _ fucking _ burn you alive!”

“I-I told you I don’t have it!”

“Oh yeah, well- Well how about all this?!” Lokrai turned to the kitchen table, which was covered in fancy silverware. He picked up an ornate silver cup. “You can afford all  _ this _ but you don’t have my father’s money? Huh? You couldn’t pawn this shit?”

“Th-That silverware was my mother’s-”

“Do you think I  _ care _ ?! Do you think  _ my father _ cares?!  _ No _ ! You borrowed gold from my family, so you should’ve known what you were signing up for!”

“Please, just one more-”

“ _ Shut up!! _ ” Lokrai screamed again. Flames erupted from his palms as he cast Burning Hands at Tiberius.

Tiberius screamed in pain as his flesh was slowly burnt off of his bones.

Lokrai was blind with rage. His white eyes and red arcane focus each glowed their respective colors. He continued his Burning Hands spell and directed it all around Tiberius’s house, lighting the whole place on fire. He quickly grabbed a random bag from the living room and used it to gather all of Tiberius’s fancy, silver tableware.

He left the house just as Tiberius’s screams had finally stopped.

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣

Krosev woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of the alarm bells on the fire control wagons. His eyes sleepily opened, and he saw a glowing orange out the window. Curious, he rubbed his eyes and shuffled out of bed to look out the window. A couple streets down, he saw a house at a familiar address up in flames, smoke billowing up from it.

Krosev blinked, surprised. Then he laughed, partially in disbelief. He knew that had to be Lokrai. That was Tiberius’s house, and only Lokrai could produce a flame that powerful. “Well,” he smiled to himself, “That’s my boy.”

He left his room and walked down the hall to Lokrai’s room, preparing to congratulate his kid.

But when he opened the door, Lokrai’s bed was empty.

Krosev frowned. He expected Lokrai to be back by now. Tiberius’s house wasn’t that far away, and Lokrai had done his job now. Wouldn’t he want to come back quickly to show Krosev what he did? Krosev thought, searching his brain for the answer.

His eyes closed as he realised what it must be.

Fuck.

He should’ve realized it when he noticed Lokrai had called him ‘sir’.

He went back to his room and got dressed enough to leave the house.

♥ ♠ ♦ ♣

Meanwhile, Lokrai was sitting on the side of a dock along Main Street. Next to him was a sack of Tiberius’s silverware. His feet hung off the edge of the dock, just above where the ocean met the sand of the beach he and Sylas used to play on. He just stared at the churning waves - his mind elsewhere, his mouth frowning.

Speaking of Sylas, his ghost was there, too. And this time, Lokrai was fully aware of him. He ‘sat’ next to Lokrai - or more so floated in the space next to him. He looked at Lokrai, pity in his eyes. “How’re you feeling?”

Lokrai just gave the tiniest shrug as his answer.

“You wanna try and talk it out?”

Lokrai hesitated before answering. “I thought I’d feel better after I killed him. That’s what father said to do, and I did it, so… I dunno. I’d don’t feel good.”

“You  _ killed _ someone,” Sylas said. “I think it’s okay to not feel so good.”

“I’ve killed before.”

“Yeah, in self defense or when someone was gonna hurt your dad. Or when Krosev was with you. This was the first time you did it on your own.”

Lokrai lifted his legs back up onto the wood panels of the dock. He squeezed them in towards his chest and hugged his arms around his knees. “I… I feel…  _ bad _ . Like… guilty, almost. But I shouldn’t! That man wronged my father! He wronged my family! Why… Why do I kinda feel bad about killing him?! I don’t understand!” Lokrai sighed. “But… That’s not all I’m upset about.”

“What else is there?”

Lokrai hesitated again. “You think Dad still hates me?”

“I don’t think he  _ hates _ you, Lok. I think he just got a bit frustrated. He shouldn’t have taken it out on you, but that doesn’t mean he  _ hates _ you.”

“He hates me,” Lokrai said, voice sounding close to crying again. “He said he was disappointed in me. He’s probably gonna kick me out of the house.” His knees were still tucked close to his chest. He shook his head, willing his tears to not come out. “I knew it, you know? I knew it was too good to be true. You’re the only person who’s ever gonna love me, Sy. The only one. I’m unloveable.”

Sylas’s expression grew even more sorrowful. “Oh, Lok, baby, don’t say that-”

“It’s true. I am. I got lucky with you. I don’t know why I also expected to get lucky here. Of course I’d mess things up. I always do.”

Before Sylas could argue back, they both heard the familiar sound of fancy shoes against cobblestone. Lokrai tensed. He didn’t turn around.

The footsteps went from clacking against cobblestone to against the wood of the dock. Eventually, they stopped, just behind Lokrai. Lokrai still didn’t look at the producer of those footsteps, but he had a pretty good idea of who it was.

“I knew I’d find you here,” Krosev’s familiar voice said from behind him.

“I’m sorry, father,” he choked out after a beat of silence. “I know you said we’d fix it tomorrow, but I fixed it tonight.” He still stared out at the ocean, too scared to face Krosev. “I hope that’s okay.”

There were a few seconds of silence before Lokrai finally heard Krosev’s voice again.

“You went a bit overboard,” his father said, his tone unreadable. “Burning the whole house down and all.”

Lokrai didn’t respond, still too scared.

A couple more seconds of silence, then Krosev sighed. “But I went overboard, too. I’m sorry. I overreacted and I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“No, it’s okay,” Lokrai said, still not facing Krosev. “I deserved it.”

“No, you didn’t,” Krosev continued. “You’re still new to this. I shouldn’t expect you to know things that are second nature to me. It’s just more that I have to teach you.”

“You shouldn’t have to teach me such a simple concept.”

“Gods, Lokrai, will you stop talking down on yourself?” Krosev raised his voice just a smidge, but it was enough to make Lokrai flinch. Krosev closed his eyes and mentally scolded himself. “Fuck, sorry, I…” He sighed again. “Can you turn around and look at me, son?”

Lokrai perked up and turned around, confusion clear on his face.

“What is it, kid?”

“I… I’m still your son?”

Krosev’s face fell. His heart broke. This was  _ way _ worse than he thought it was. “Of course, kiddo!” He laughed at how ridiculous the statement was as he sat down on the dock beside Lokrai. “Of course you are, son. I just got a little mad, that’s all. And I’m sorry about that. Besides, you fixed your mistake. You did what you were supposed to do. I’m not upset anymore. I came here to tell you that you did a good job.”

Lokrai stared at his father. The gears in his brain turned, trying to understand that he could actually  _ believe _ the words coming out of Krosev’s mouth. He started crying. “O-Okay,” he let out a shaky breath and his cries got more intense. “I promise I’ll never disappoint you again, sir! Never ever! I promise, sir! I’ll never disappoint you again-”

“Stop it, kiddo,” Krosev said, his voice dropping down to that soft tone that he only used for Lokrai. “And don’t call me ‘sir’. I’m your father, not your boss.”

Lokrai’s eyes widened. He just realized that he’d been saying ‘sir’. “S-Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Krosev said. He laughed sadly to himself and put a hand on Lokrai’s cheek. Lokrai pressed against it, his eyes closing for a second. Krosev’s eyes filled with pity. “Gods, kid. Sometimes I forget how much the world hurt you before you got to me.”

Lokrai didn’t know how to respond. After a pause, he just choked out, “S-So, you still love me?”

“ _ Yes _ , kiddo. I do. I love you so much.” Krosev hugged Lokrai, who went completely tense in his arms, not prepared for the touch. He rubbed his son’s back and he slowly loosened up. “Even when I get a little mad at you, I still love you, okay? That’s what it means to love someone - you love them no matter what. Parents get mad at their kids all the time. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you.”

Lokrai took in these words. When his brain decided that since  _ Krosev _ said them, he could believe them, he exhaled and fell deeper into his father’s embrace. “I love you, too. I love you so much.”

When Krosev eventually pulled away, he kept a hand behind Lokrai’s neck, gently playing with his hair. “You did a good job today, son. You made a mistake, but then you took the initiative and fixed it yourself. I’m proud of you.”

Hope returned to Lokrai’s heart. He smiled as his tears started to fade away. “Thanks, Dad.” He pushed the bag of fancy tableware closer to Krosev. “B-Before I left his house, I took any that looked like it had value. So that way, in the end, he still repaid his debt - or at least some of it. Just… not willingly.”

Krosev squinted a bit at the unexpected comment. He took the bag and looked inside. His eyes quickly blew up wide and his face formed into a greedy smile. He laughed darkly, pulling out an ornate, silver cup and turning it over in his hand. “Yes!  _ Yes _ ! Oh, son, this is beautiful!” He dropped the cup back in the bag, causing a loud sound of clashing against metal.

Krosev reached inside the bag again - his hungry, greedy, goblin-like grin still plastered against his face. Lokrai just watched. It was almost scary, but it wasn’t. Krosev was  _ happy _ again. Lokrai had caused that wide smile. He fixed this. Everything was fine… hopefully.

This time when Krosev retrieved his hand from the bag, he pulled out a silver spoon and fork. He held them up slightly to the moonlight. They glistened, and Krosev laughed again, even more maniacally. “Look at this! There must be at least 10 pounds of silver in here! That’ll be worth… let’s see…” Krosev did some calculations in his head, “400, maybe even  _ 500 _ gold pieces!” Krosev returned the items to the bag and looked at Lokrai.

Lokrai gazed back - hopeful, expectant, anticipating, so desperately wanting approval.

Krosev pushed the bag to the side and pinched Lokrai’s cheek. “Look at you! You genius boy!” Krosev cupped the sides of Lokrai's face and pressed a kiss his cheek. “You make me so proud, son! You did such a good job!”

Lokrai let out a shaky, relieved breath and soaked in the praise. He laughed a bit in disbelief. Everything was going to be okay. His father still loved him. Only now did his brain truly believe that.

His smile faltered as he thought about exactly  _ what _ he had done to make his father so proud of him.

Krosev noticed. “What is it, kid?”

“I…” And suddenly all the tears were coming back to Lokrai’s eyes. “I didn’t just spare his life the first time because he begged. I-I was scared to kill him! He begged and brought up his mother and his new girlfriend and I just… I felt like killing him would be a bad thing to do! And now that I actually  _ have _ killed him, I-I… I  _ do _ feel bad! I feel guilty! I feel like I shouldn’t have done it!” Lokrai wiped his eyes and looked up at his father. “P-Please… help me-”

“Shhh, it’s okay, kiddo,” Krosev hugged Lokrai again, rubbing his back. “It’s okay, I understand. It was your first kill for the family business all by yourself. That took some willpower, and you got it done in the end. You went  _ beyond _ what you had to do in the end. You did a good job.”

“Then why do I feel like a bad person?!” Lokrai pulled away and asked so pitifully that it sounded like begging - like he was begging to know the truth.

“Oh, kiddo,” Krosev put his hand on the back of Lokrai’s neck again, running his fingers through his son’s hair. “Haven’t I told you this before? We  _ are _ bad people. We’re bad people - monsters, disgusting, scary. That’s what everyone says we are, right? So we have to accept it and own it. Be proud of it. Embrace it.”

Not once - not  _ once _ \- did Lokrai ever question that what Krosev was teaching him might not have been the best morals ever. To him, Krosev was his savior. He was the only person alive who showed him kindness and love, so Lokrai trusted and took in every word that he said.

And these words especially clicked for Lokrai. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Yeah, of  _ course _ he felt like a bad person - he  _ was _ a bad person. He didn’t have to feel  _ ashamed _ for being bad. He had to accept it, embrace it - like how Krosev had told him to embrace his scary looks, to be proud that he looks scary. He felt free - freedom from the burden of feeling like he had to be good. It was so much easier just to be bad.

Lokrai’s back straightened as he came to this realisation. His tears subsided again. “Right. Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Dad.” He wiped his eyes. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t just understand that in the first place.”

“It’s alright, kiddo. It’s my job to teach you these things.” He ruffled Lokrai’s hair and smiled. “I’m gonna help you understand everything in this confusing world, okay? All you gotta do is listen to me.”

Lokrai nodded feverishly. “Yes, father. I’ll listen.”

“That’s a good boy,” Krosev said, and Lokrai melted at the praise again. He chuckled to himself, then stood up. “C’mon, kiddo. Let’s go home.”

Lokrai stood up and followed Krosev as they walked back to their house.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that Krosev is Lawful Evil and not a good person. Despite this, he's trying, and he thinks he's being a good father. Whether he actually is or not, well, you can be the judge of that. Thanks for reading! I'll write more eventually.

**Author's Note:**

> [Here's my Tumblr](https://starprincepunk.tumblr.com) and [my art Tumblr](https://starprince-art.tumblr.com) if you're interested.


End file.
